


Her Eyes Saw It All

by ich_bin_ein_stern



Series: I Just Really Like Naruto [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Haruno Sakura, Disownment, Gen, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Team as Family, The concept of mokuton is messed with in this fanfic!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-03-07 21:23:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 63,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13443666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ich_bin_ein_stern/pseuds/ich_bin_ein_stern
Summary: Sakura can't recall much of the details regarding the mission in Wave, but what she does remember - there are scars left behind. The life she knows changes after this mission and, for better or worse, she accepts it and moves forward. She won't allow herself to fall behind.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Feature(s): Close-knit Team Seven, Protective!Kakashi
> 
> Pairing(s): None decided as of now.
> 
> *Warnings will be listed at the beginning of each chapter
> 
> AU!

**Disclaimer:**  All rights belong to their respective parties, of which I am not included.

* * *

**Chapter One**

_She swallowed her fear,_

_Looked Death in the eyes,_

_And made the choice to live._

Her eyes sting with tears threatening to fall. Not three feet away from her are Naruto and Sasuke, both unconscious and bleeding. Kakashi is currently locked in a one-to-two battle with Zabuza and Haku. From her perspective, Kakashi is holding his own despite bleeding from a shoulder wound.

Blinking rapidly, Sakura focuses on her teammates. With what little bandages she carries in her pack, she does her best to stop the bleeding on both her teammates. Carefully, she removes the remaining senbon needles from Sasuke's arms and chest and pulls the kunai out of Naruto's legs.

Glancing up, she sees Haku unmoving on the ground. Dead or knocked out, Sakura doesn't care. But the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza grows ten times tense. She can barely make them out from how fast they're moving in the heavy mist.

"Please," Sakura whispers. "Please let him win. Please let us go home." She looks down at her teammates, caresses Sasuke's face and Naruto's damp hair. "Please let them live."

A loud 'thud' sounds behind her and all noise falls silent.

Sakura looks up and her heart stops for a moment. Lying unmoving on the ground several feet away is Kakashi. She can just make out the rise and fall of his chest and tries not to sag in relief. A scrape on the wet ground has her eyes shooting to the man who managed to knock her sensei down. He's advancing on Kakashi's position slowly. Sakura's eyes return to Sasuke and Naruto before darting back to Kakashi.

 _Get up_ , she thinks.

But he doesn't.

 _Move!_ , Sakura yells in her head.

Nothing.

A deep sense of fear races up her spine and settles heavily on her shoulders. Kakashi can't die. Naruto and Sasuke can't die. Zabuza is getting too close. His sword is resting on his shoulder, making the man appear taller than he is.

Her decision is made.

Swallowing her fear, she pulls a kunai out of her thigh pouch and shoots forward the several feet to get to Kakashi and takes a protective position in front of him. This action seems to startle Zabuza judging by the slight widening of his eyes and how he lowers his sword.

"Move," he commands.

Words escaping her, Sakura shakes her head while not taking her eyes off him.

"If you don't move, you'll die first and then him and then your friends."

"I'm not moving," Sakura states, voice trembling with fear.

"Restrain her," Zabuza commands, sword lifted back to his shoulder.

An arm wraps around her, pinning her arms to her stomach, and something cold is pressed to her neck. Sakura's eyes go wide as she's pulled away from Kakashi. Light puffs of breath brush against the clammy skin of her exposed neck. Her fear intensifies. She and her team are going to die.

 _I don't want to die_ , Sakura thinks.  _I don't want any of us to die._

Tears sting her eyes. Zabuza is almost to Kakashi. His pace is slow, almost teasing in a way. She glances down at her kunai. An insane thought enters her head, something desperate. Without hesitating, Sakura kicks out her leg in an attempt to knock Haku down.

Her body jerks backward with her kick, the sharp metal against her neck following her. Next thing she knows, a sharp kick is delivered to the backs of her knees and she's falling down with her knees 'clacking' against the ground.

The sting is brief, but the gasp that escapes her mouth comes from when Haku grabs her hair, his kunai still pressed to her neck. Sakura looks at Kakashi, heart pounding loudly in her chest. Zabuza is standing over her sensei with his sword still resting on his shoulder. Sakura attempts to shake her head, soft "no's" falling out of her mouth.

When he raises his sword, Sakura doesn't think. She moves. Jerking, she twists her body while raising her kunai.

A cry cuts through the air so high-pitched, it leaves Sakura's ears ringing. She doesn't know who made the sound, she can't really focus on anything. Something in the back of her head tells her to run. She feels sweaty and her hands are sticky.

Wait.

 _Sticky?_  She looks down. Haku is staring up at her like she's not human. And then she's on her back while pain ripples across her shoulder. She barely has any time to look before Haku is on her, senbon needles between the creases of one hand raised above her head while the other closes around her throat. She struggles immediately while nails bite into the skin.

Her free hands go to the one he has around her throat, desperate to get him to let go. She looks around but sees nothing to grab and then her eyes fall to his wound. Her kunai still sticking out of his side. Vision blurring, she reaches down for the kunai and uses her palm press it deeper into him.

He releases her immediately.

Sakura rolls over and coughs several times, trying to get her breathing under control. She hears metal clashing against metal and looks up to see Kakashi back on his feet. Her relief is short-lived when she hears the 'clang' on metal hitting the stone ground. With shaky legs, she gets to her feet knowing that she'll be facing Haku now with no real hope of winning. Turning to him, she sees him kneeling on the ground with blood dripping from the wound she gave him.

"I underestimated you," Haku states simply. "I will not be making that mistake again."

Sakura doesn't have time to think before she's flying backward. Her head cracks loudly against the ground, leaving her breathless and in pain.

 _I don't want to die._  Sakura turns her heads towards where she believes her teammates are.  _I'm going to try._  Her hands reach into her pouch as Haku stalks over to her at a slow pace.  _I can buy Kakashi-sensei some time. Hopefully._ Energy seemingly renewed, Sakura rolls over and gets to her feet. Breathing heavy, she falls into a defensive stance.

Their blades collide. She's not skilled in weapons like Sasuke or full of stamina like Naruto or as skilled as Kakashi, but she is good in one area.

With her excellent chakra control, Sakura drops her kunai and lets her hands fly into the symbols to perform a genjutsu. Remembering the few she learned from the Academy, Sakura activates one that plays on the fears of an enemy. Her control seemingly perfect.

"Do you think - ," Haku stops, eyes wide. "What is this?" He looks around, eyes unfocus.

Hope feeling her chest, Sakura darts forward and sends a kick to Haku's chest. He goes back a couple of feet. She lands several punches to his face and stomach. She doesn't stop. Sakura pulls out another kunai and runs forward with the intention to slit Haku's throat only to stop suddenly when his head snaps up and he looks at her with an unreadable expression.

After that, everything moves too fast.

She's on her back again, pain sliding over her stomach. She cries out. Her stomach feels like it's on fire. She turns her head slightly just in time to see Kakashi's hand, surrounded by something like blue lightening, impale Haku through his chest. Haku, who is in front of Zabuza, smiles sadly before he closes his eyes and falls to the ground.

Sakura hears voices, sees unfamiliar people, watches as Zabuza kills Gato and his men, dying in the process. She sees Zabuza crawl across the ground to lie next to Haku, tears falling from his eyes. She didn't realize how close she was to them from her position on the stone ground.

Feeling tired, she leaves Zabuza and Haku one final thought before everything goes black.

_May your souls rest in peace finally._

* * *

Sakura shoots awake and gasps, her hands flying to her stomach as a white hot burning spreads across it. Her shoulder doesn't hurt nearly as much as her stomach does. Tears spring to her eyes from the pain, but she shakily swallows them back. Looking around, she sees that she's alone. Her thoughts fall to her teammates. Where are Sasuke and Naruto? Are they alive? What happened to Kakashi? Is she the only one to make it?

Glancing to the window, Sakura blinks at the bright moon hanging high in the sky. From its position, she guesses it's really late. Probably past midnight. Slowly lifting the blanket off her, Sakura looks down to see bandages around her stomach and realizes that someone changed her into her cropped night shirt and spare shorts. She grunts at the red specks appearing on the white bandages before moving her legs to the edge of the bed to place her feet on the ground.

It takes her several tries to get off the bed and stand, but she manages. Bracing herself against the wall, Sakura walks along the wall until she makes it to the door of the room she's in. Opening it quietly, Sakura walks out into the hall and starts down the hall at a slow pace. Something in her gut tells her this is the right way to go.

There's another room at the end of the hall and Sakura hopes the boys are in it because she doesn't know if she'll be able to make it to another room in her condition. When she reaches the door, Sakura opens in slowly to avoid waking anyone up. Upon entering, she is filled with an overwhelming need to cry.

Sasuke and Naruto are laying on bed mats, bandaged up, and definitely alive. Sakura pushes herself off the wall and manages two steps before falling to her knees. Pain increasing but not to be stopped, she crawls toward them. Tears are sliding down her face by the time she reaches them. She checks over Naruto, who is closest to her, and then Sasuke. She places a tentative kiss on both their cheeks before lying down between their bed mats. The floor is cold, hard, and not something she should be sleeping on after what happened, but Sakura doesn't care.

Completely exhausted and in pain, Sakura looks up at the ceiling. "We made it." She reaches out and takes one hand from each. "We made it." She falls asleep a moment later.

* * *

" - in bed to heal!"

"I am aware - her own person."

"Why didn't you - doesn't have to - comfortable!"

" - you need to calm - put her back to bed."

"Listen to him, Naruto - hurt too."

"Tell us what - her stomach is - shoulder?!"

Sakura comes back to her senses like gasping for breath after nearly drowning. Eyes still closed, she moves her hand to her forehead to rub away the sweat that has collected there. Body aching, mind a mess, and desperately wanting to soak in hot water, Sakura tries to sit up. A sharp gasp escapes her when pain shoots up her stomach.

Hands are on her immediately, pushing her down.

"Sakura-chan, don't get up!"

Wincing, Sakura struggles to open her eyes.

"Don't yell, dumbass."

Sasuke.

Naruto and Sasuke. Alive. Talking.

- elp me up," Sakura manages to get out. Her throat is dry.

"She's speaking!"

As much as she's happy to hear Naruto, she doesn't appreciate his yelling. "Loud."

"What was that, Sakura-chan?"

Relaxing her body knowing that she's safe among her team, Sakura finally manages to get her eyes open. She blinks once, twice, before her vision comes into focus. She first sees Naruto. He's grinning down at her, but his eyes speak volumes of how much he is worried about her. Sakura takes in the bandages around his forehead and the large one on his right cheek. She looks past Naruto to see Sasuke. There are no visible bandages on his face, but he isn't wearing his signature dark blue, high neck shirt. Just a long sleeve black shirt. His face is blank, but she sees the concern.

"We're glad you're awake, Sakura." She turns her head towards the source of the statement and sees Kakashi smiling down at her (or so she assumes).

"T-time?"

"It's nearing two o'clock," Kakashi supplies.

Sakura closes her eyes and sighs. "Water?"

"I'll get it!" Naruto says.

Sakura hears him race out of the room to fetch her a glass of water. Hopefully with a straw.

"You gave us quite the scare, Sakura. Moving to Sasuke and Naruto's room opened your stitches."

"H-had to k-know. Teamma-mates."

She feels a cool hand brush strains of her hair off her forehead, not bothering to feel self-conscious about that area, and sighs gratefully.

"I know." Kakashi gets it.

"I got the water!" Naruto announces loudly upon re-entering the room. "With a straw!"

"Sit up?" Sakura asks.

"Slowly."

Two sets of hands slowly help her to a sitting position. She hears more than feels her pillows being propped up for her to rest on. Sasuke takes a step back from her and she blinks rapidly when a glass of ice water with a bright pink straw is thrust in her face. She takes it with a small smile and takes a sip. One sip is followed by two and the next thing she knows, the glass is empty.

"Thank you, Naruto. That really helped."

She's rewarded with a beaming smile in return.

"You're welcome, Sakura-chan!"

Nodding, Sakura turns back to Kakashi. "What happened?"

"We won!" Naruto grins.

Sasuke snorts. "Obviously."

"Zabuza and Haku died and were buried together. Gato and his gang are no longer an issue." Kakashi says while taking out his small orange book. "Once you're healed enough to travel, we'll be leaving."

Sakura nods her head.

"Kakashi-sensei said you held your own against Haku," Sasuke states. Sakura blinks. She remembers her battle against Haku, if she's even allowed to call it that, and fights back a sigh.

Instead, she shakes her head. "Hardly. You and Naruto did most of the damage."

"You landed a few good hits on him, Sakura. And I believe you trapped him in a genjutsu."

How he knows that she doesn't know. Again, Sakura shakes her head. "That hardly matters, Kakashi-sensei." The genjutsu lasted less than a minute.

"Your actions saved your teammate's lives as well as my own. Don't downplay them." She wants to argue with him, but one look her way had her stopping. He reaches out and ruffles her hair gently. "You did a good job. I'm very proud of you."

She ducks her head in what they probably assume to hide a blush, but what Sakura really feels in embarrassment. She really didn't do much.

"How are you three?" Sakura says in hopes of changing the subject.

"I'm good!" Naruto answers quickly. "A few bumps and bruises, but nothing that won't heal in a couple of days."

She nods and looks to Sasuke. "I'm okay." It's the only thing he offers and Sakura smiles a little. Typical Sasuke.

"And you, sensei?"

Kakashi closes his book with a 'snap' and gives her head another ruffle. "I'm doing alright myself."

"More importantly! What about you?" Naruto asks, getting closer.

Sakura looks down at her stomach, running a hand over the bandages before raising the same hand to touch her right shoulder. Both are tender to the touch. She doesn't even know what hit either of them. Judging by Kakashi's calm aura, she doesn't believe herself at risk for infection.

"They're sensitive," Sakura concludes. "I don't even know what hit me."

"You took several senbon needles to your stomach," Kakashi replies. "And two kunai to your shoulder. No infection. Your stomach was the most worrying part. The senbon needles Haku used are bigger than normal - huge, really - and a few of them ripped into your stomach. Not extremely deep, but deep enough to make it dangerous for you to be up on your feet."

"What an ugly scar that'll make," Sakura laughs.

"Be proud of your battle scars," Kakashi says, visible eye closing to indicate his smile.

Sakura laughs again, but it sounds strained even to her ears. "Whatever you say."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad, Sakura-chan! You'll still be beautiful with your scars!"

Sakura blinks and then smiles sincerely. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me, Naruto. Thank you."

Naruto's face turns red at her words. He rubs the back of his head in embarrassment before grinning at her. "You're welcome, Sakura-chan."

"Are you hungry?" Kakashi asks. "Tazuna and his family have provided lodging and medical supplies and food until we are well enough to journey back to Konoha."

"You mean until I'm well enough to journey back," Sakura replies, face falling into a blank look.

"Naruto has two cracked ribs and should be resting," Kakashi states, book open again. "And Sasuke's left wrist is all but snapped."

From her position on the bed, Sakura didn't even notice these other wounds on her teammates. She sighs. "I won't argue with you, sensei. And no, I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten since yesterday morning, Sakura." It's Sasuke who says this. "At least drink the soup. It's much more editable than whatever crap Naruto made."

Sakura's mouth twitches into a smile when Naruto turns to Sasuke and they fall into an argument. She's glad that they'll be okay soon. She doesn't even want to think about what sort of scar Haku's needles left on her stomach. It'll probably be very ugly. She blinks. Naruto's kind words come back. Maybe it won't be so b - Kakashi pets her hair.

"We were really worried, Sakura." She hears it over the argument of her teammates. "You lost a lot of blood and there aren't a lot of medical supplies lying around. We had to use what was available since you used yours on Sasuke and Naruto and they, plus I, were ill-equipped. Tazuna's daughter stitched you up the best she could."

Sakura clinches her bed sheets. "I hate being the one who slows down the team. This weakness," she motions to her shoulder and stomach, "will keep us here longer than we should be, Kakashi-sensei. I can barely walk and," she pauses to lick her dry lips, "I want to go home."

"I know. But Sakura," she looks up at him, "there's nothing weak about healing after a battle. Your injuries are different than Sasuke's and Naruto's."

She sighs but doesn't reply.

"You said no to being hungry, but we're concerned. We won't force you to eat if you don't want to," Kakashi flips a page in his book, "but it would make you, and us, feel better."

"That almost sounds like blackmail," Sakura replies, a small smile gracing her lips.

He shrugs, but she can tell he's grinning. Turning back to her teammates, Sakura rolls her eyes at their position. Their faces are a couple of inches apart and Naruto has his fist raised as if to hit Sasuke. An idea pops into her head and she grins.

"Do you guys want Kakashi-sensei and I to leave so you two can be alone?"

The reaction is immediate. Their heads snap towards her in shock.

"I can take Sakura-chan to the next room," Kakashi says playing along.

"It'll be like the Academy days, only Shikamaru isn't here to accidentally make you kiss."

They back away from each other quickly.

"Sakura..." Sasuke shakes his head.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whines.

She can't help it. She starts laughing. It doesn't last long when pain shoots up her stomach, but their reactions are funny.

"Be careful," Kakashi chimes in. "Don't laugh too hard."

She settles down and leans comfortably against her propped pillows once again. Sasuke and Naruto are glaring at each other in annoyance, Kakashi is reading his little book, and Sakura is starting to feel sleepy again. Bringing her hand up, she covers a yawn quietly.

"We should let Sakura rest," Kakashi says after closing his book with a 'snap.' "But when you wake up again, you need to eat something. Your strength will return quicker with something in your stomach."

"Yes, sensei." Sakura blinks a few times, eyes growing heavy.

"Sleep well, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grins.

He touches her hand gently, giving it a squeeze of reassurance. She looks at him with a smile and turns her hand so she can squeeze back. Then she looks at Sasuke who appears not to know what to say or do. Her other hand twitches like she wants to reach out, but Sasuke makes the first move. He walks over to Kakashi's side of the bed and places his hand on top of hers.

"You did good," he mumbles.

She gives him the same soft smile she gave Naruto.

"Thanks, guys."

"Alright. It's time to let her sleep." Kakashi places a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to direct him away from the bed. Before he gets too far, he reaches out to ruffle Sakura's hair once again. "Soup or bread? For when you wake up."

She shrugs gingerly. "Either is fine."

He nods. "Rest well."

* * *

The journey back to Konoha goes just a bit faster than Sakura thought it would, but she is being carried piggybacked by her sensei who takes great care in how he moves so he doesn't jostle her too much. Her shoulder has healed up rather nicely and her stomach is, more or less, healed enough for her to move around for a while without loss of breath. She and Kakashi briefly argued about her traveling on foot.

She won, but only lasted about four hours before her stomach cramped and she had to stop. To her amazement, she isn't chastised for her choice and Sasuke gives her an impressed looked. Naruto offers to carry her, but she declines nicely. Kakashi, however, refuses to let her travel on foot again for at least the rest of the day. For the next two weeks, she's mostly carried by Kakashi.

It disappoints her that she can't travel as fast as the boys, but she doesn't voice this.

Tazuna and his family leave them well off. No perishable foods, bandages they went into the nearest town and bought for their journey, and a few personal hygiene items like new toothbrushes and deodorant. Sakura is grateful, of course, because the urge to brush her teeth comes up quicker than she likes.

What really surprises her is the name Tazuna gives the bridge he built.

Bridge Team Seven.

It's a kind gesture that has Naruto grinning like mad for the first couple of days on their journey home, the kind of gesture that has Sasuke smile briefly, the kind of gesture that has Kakashi nod his head approvingly. She is proud of her team. Despite their setbacks, they were triumphant.

"We're almost home!" Naruto exclaims.

He loops around a branch and moves faster until he's in step with Kakashi. Sasuke moves forward until he is right next to Naruto.

"When we get there, I will see all three of you to the hospital. While you're taken care of, I will report to the Hokage."

"What?!" Naruto all but yells. "Why?!"

"Because your ribs are still tender, Sasuke's wrist needs to be double-checked, and Sakura's stomach needs a proper healer." Kakashi speeds up a bit. "Your well-being is more important than turning in a report. As your sensei, I will see to it that you three are properly cared for."

Naruto grumbles under his breath. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura speaks. Something in Kakashi's voice has them biting their tongue.

Sakura feels relief flood her body when the gates to their village come into view. It's such a welcomed sight. When they're a couple of yards away, they hop down and walk the rest of the distance. Upon their arrival, they are greeted by two gate guards who state that Kakashi's presence is needed in the Hokage's office as soon as possible.

With a nod, Kakashi continues to the hospital. All four of them arrive at the hospital where a nurse greets them with a concerned look before taking them to an available room with two beds. Sasuke helps Kakashi lower Sakura to one of the beds and the nurse starts with her first. Three more nurses join them soon after.

"Please treat them with your best care," Kakashi says. "I have been summoned to the Hokage's office." He turns to his students. "Don't try to leave before you're given a clear bill of health." He pats Naruto's shoulder and disappears in a flicker of black.

"Please take a seat on the other bed," one nurse says while looking at Sasuke and Naruto. "We will access the damage to determine that best route to full health."

Neither Sakura nor her teammates spoke during the whole ordeal. She doesn't protest to having her red qipao dress removed (her black cropped tank top underneath keeps her modest) or when the bandages are removed from her shoulder and stomach. She doesn't even blink at the brief horrified look on the nurse's face upon seeing her stomach.

It only confirms how ugly the scar is.

 _Remember what Naruto said_ , Sakura thinks.  _Beautiful even with scars._

"I can heal the damaged muscles and blood vessels underneath, but the scar is too old to heal." She sends Sakura a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

Sakura only nods.

After that, time seems to slow down. The nurse is towering over her for what feels like forever.

"Done. You may feel a slight tightness in your lower abdomen for about a day or two. Try to take it easy."

Sakura sits up slower, feeling a pull in her stomach, and swings her legs over the edge of the hospital bed. This is the best she's felt in two weeks. Once the nurse helps her re-dress, she leaves. Sakura notices the other nurses left already.

"You okay, Sakura-chan?" Naruto calls.

She nods. "And you guys?" She looks at both of them with narrowed eyes, accessing their appearance. Sasuke's wrist is no longer bandaged and Naruto only has one dinky little bandage on the right lower side of his chest. Naruto grins and gives her a thumbs up. Sasuke returns her nod, but he isn't looking at her face. His eyes are drawn to her stomach, where her scar was revealed briefly before being covered by her dress, but Sakura refuses to look, think, or even speak about the injury right now.

"I'm okay," she says softly instead.

Sasuke looks up at her, something in his eyes she can't recognize, and nods.

"Team Kakashi?" a voice interrupts.

All three of them turn towards the open door to their room to see a red-haired, blue-eyed man standing there with a jounin vest on.

"Yes, that's us," Sakura replies.

The man smiles a little. "I've been sent to retrieve you. The Hokage wishes to speak to all of you."

Sakura nods and gets up. It barely hurts this time and she is grateful. Naruto whoops real loud and together with her teammates, they exit the room they were brought to and follow the jounin out of the hospital and towards the Hokage Tower.

The walk to the tower is done in silence. Sakura walks beside Sasuke, both behind Naruto, and hopes that the meeting with the Hokage goes by quickly. She desperately wants to take a shower. She knows she looks as gross as she feels. Her hair a mess, her face pale, and her palms clammy.

Someone grabs her arm abruptly to halt her. Sakura looks at the hand holding her arm and follows along it until she's facing Sasuke.

"Be careful," he mumbles.

Sakura looks ahead of her and sees that she very nearly walked into a wall. They are already at the Tower.

"Thanks," she whispers back.

He nods and let's go.

"Good afternoon," the Hokage greets with a gentle smile on his aging face when they enter his office. Kakashi is standing off to the side, book out, and offers them a nod.

"Hey old man!" Naruto exclaims.

Sakura sighs. "Show some respect, Naruto."

"The old man can take it!"

She shoots Sarutobi-sama an apologetic smile. "Sorry for our teammate."

Naruto huffs. "Are we here to talk about the mission or what?"

"Kakashi has already stated much of what has happened, but I'd like some input from you three."

"It was crazy!" Naruto nearly yells. "Mist nins and misty fields and needles and mirrors!" He scratches the back of his neck. "The other old man named his bridge after us." Sakura nods and Sasuke remains silent.

The Hokage chuckles. "So I've heard." Then he regards them more seriously. "Your injuries. They've been cared for properly?"

"Yes, sir." Sakura nods again.

He looks at her, eyes calculative, before sighing. "Normally, such cases like what happened in Wave are dismissed and the team returned to the village immediately, but Kakashi states that all three of you were capable of completing it despite your grievances. I am glad to see you all back safely and walking. You will receive additional payment for your services. For the time being, however, you will not be assigned any missions outside of the village."

Naruto groans loudly. "But why?!"

Smiling, the Hokage replies with a simple: "You'll find out why soon enough."

Sakura shares a look with Sasuke; both curious as to what the Hokage could mean.

"Make sure you receive your payment before you leave." He picks up a scroll off his desk. "I'm very proud of you three. Dismissed." Kakashi leads the three of them out of the room and towards the financial center within the Hokage Tower.

Sakura's eyes go wide at the amount handed to her. It is a lot. More than she would have thought to receive. She places it in her hip pouch with intentions of adding it to the money she's been saving for the last few years from doing mundane things for her neighbors (babysitting and chores mostly, but money is money and she isn't one to complain).

"Yes!" Naruto pumps a fist in the air. "Time for some ramen!"

Sakura covers her giggle. Typical Naruto. Beside her Sasuke huffs. From annoyance or amusement, Sakura can't tell. Together as a group, they leave the Tower and gather off to the side.

"Regardless of the setbacks, I will reiterate how proud I am of you three for accomplishing something beyond your area of expertise. Instead of meeting up in the morning, we'll meet at after lunch around 12 o'clock."

"12 for us but 2 for you," Sakura replies cheekily.

Kakashi only offers her his signature eye smile before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Let's go eat!" Naruto exclaims. "My treat!"

Sasuke shakes his head. "I'm going home to sleep."

Sakura nods. "Sorry, Naruto. I want to go home and shower and then proceed to pass out on my bed. Maybe we can meet up tomorrow for lunch?" She turns to Sasuke. "Sound good?"

Sasuke doesn't reply.

"Come on, bastard! Let's have a team date or whatever!" Naruto says while getting in Sasuke's face.

Pushing him away, Sasuke replies with, "Whatever, idiot. Stop getting so close."

Sakura laughs. "I'll see you both tomorrow. Bye!" She turns away from and can't help but smile when both of them send her off with pleasantries.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly transferring my fics from FF.Net to Ao3.  
> But I still plan on updating on FF.Net.

**Chapter Two**

_Life is full of challenges,_

_You'll gain and lose._

_So relish in the small victories._

Sakura stares blankly out of her window. The sky decided to grace her village with a downpour and she finds that it fits her current emotional state. Her bedroom is in a state of chaos. There are half-full boxes with various belongings in them, clothes dumped on the floor, scrolls lying around, weapons and books cluttered all over her dresser and desk, and bandage wrappings spread over her bed.

_"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Sakura calls out upon opening the door to her house. When she receives no reply, she assumes they're out and about in the village. That isn't the case, however, when she walks into the dining room and sees her parents sitting at the table silently, empty tea cups in front of them._

_"Sakura," her father greets but his voice lacks the usual cheeriness associated with the man._

_"Dad!" Sakura smiles. "Why didn't either of you call back?" She walks over and gives him a hug only to frown when he doesn't return it. "Dad?" Haruno Kizashi regards her with a blank expression._

_"Have a seat, Sakura. There's something we need to discuss." Frowning in concern, she drops her traveling pack on the floor and takes a seat across from her mom and next to her dad._

_"What's wrong? Did something happen?" She grows increasingly worried when neither reply right away._

_"Your mother and I have been discussing your...career choice lately," her dad begins._

_Sakura briefly closes her eyes. She knows where this is headed. "You still don't approve," she states simply._

_"How can you expect us to approve of something so dangerous?" her mom asks quietly. "The life of a shinobi isn't guaranteed to last." Haruno Mebuki's distaste in the shinobi way of life has been apparent for many years._

_"You were gone for longer than you said you'd be! Can you even imagine how worried we were?!"_

_Sakura sighs. "The client lied about his request and it wasn't found out until we were already in Wave."_

_"When your sensei found out, he should have turned you around immediately!" Her mom snaps. "It's carelessness like that, that will get you killed one of these days! He's clearly unfit to lead a team of children."_

Annoyance blossoms in Sakura's mind; both at the insult towards her sensei and being regarded as a child. Genin are considered "miniature adults" among the village for deciding to take the path of becoming a shinobi. Their privileges increase above that of an average civilian.

_"Kakashi-sensei has been good to me and my teammates," Sakura argues. "Besides, by the time we got there, it was too late to head back! We caught the eye of the enemy and became targets!"_

_"You were put in unnecessary danger for nearly a month," her dad states. "Was the client arrested?"_

_"He better have been for lying," her mom states._

_Sakura shakes her head. "He was not. Konoha shinobi have no jurisdiction in Wave."_

_Her mom only snorts, eyes taking on a sort of cruel look. "Were you paid in addition to your service?"_

_"Yes," Sakura replies._

_She looks down at the dining table as she thinks about the amount the clerk gave her. It's a lot of money to be making as a genin. The payment for D-Rank missions is barely better than the babysitting and chores she used to do for the neighbors on the weekend. She's something like what happened in Wave won't happen again for her for a while._

_"Good," she hears her dad say. "Because that's the last time you're leaving this village."_

_Sakura's head snaps up at this declaration. "What?!"_

_"Your father and I have agreed that it's time you stop this foolishness with the shinobi lifestyle and do something more productive with your life."_

_It is like they both slapped her in the face and then she's filled with anger. "Being a shinobi is productive! We protect the village, we teach and learn, we aid others when they need it, doing the dangerous work that needs to be done, and more!"_

_"We are not part of a clan!" Sakura's eyes go wide at her dad's words. "The clans in Konoha provide more than enough protection for the village. You aren't needed."_

_For a moment, Sakura wants to flip the dining table and yell at them. For a moment, she wants to tackle her dad to the floor. For a moment, she feels like crying because his words tore at her heart._

_She thinks about the scar on her stomach. "Being a shinobi is one of the best choices I've ever made." Tears build in her eyes, stinging them. "I made a difference on this mission." She got that scar as proof of what she is capable of._

_"One mission," her mom scoffs. "You may not survive the next."_

_Sakura closes her eyes briefly. She's already made up her mind. "I want to be a kunoichi."_

_"We don't want you to be."_

_"Then why did you enroll me in the Academy?" Sakura snaps. "What was the point of wasting the money to buy my supplies?"_

_"We had hoped that, by indulging you, you'd get in out of your system and decide a better path."_

_"A path only you both approve of," Sakura replies through gritted teeth._

_She sees her mom flush from embarrassment._

_"The mission to Wave is the last mission you'll be on. This is for your own good."_

_Sakura shoots to her feet, chair flying backward into the wall with a loud slam. "I'm going to a kunoichi! You can't decide my life for me!"_

_"As your parents, we get the final say in your choices. I, for one, won't continue to pay for your supplies so you can continue on this path to getting yourself killed." Her mom nods in agreement._

_"I'll pay for it myself," Sakura replies._

_"That is not the point," her dad says. "The point is that your mother and I won't support a daughter who won't heed our advice."_

_"Your 'advice' is too controlling -," she stops when her dad stands up._

_"That's enough. You will either do as we say or," Sakura waits with bated breath, "or pack up your things and get out."_

_"You'd really kick me out?" Sakura can't contain the shock in her voice. Nor the hurt._

_"We are civilians, Sakura. Not shinobi. There will be no shinobi in this family."_

_"You're kicking me out of the house..."_

_"The house and family if you choose the wrong path," her dad replies. "Make your choice."_

_Sakura stares are him blankly for a moment not believing what she is hearing. The hard look on her dad's face shows the truth to his words. The blank look on her mom's face only hurts more to see._

_But she made her choice._

_"When do you want me gone?" She doesn't react to their brief shocked faces._

_"You have until tomorrow evening," her mom - no, not mom anymore - Mrs. Haruno states. "There...are boxes in the hallway closet that you can place your things in. We are going to visit the neighbors. There are leftovers in the fridge."_

You'll still feed me _, Sakura thinks sarcastically. But the pain she feels in her heart hurts ten times more than the pain she experienced after waking up that day in Wave._

_Mr. Haruno says nothing else and he and his wife leave moments after._

Sakura glances down at her lap. She's holding her copy of the team picture Kakashi gave her a couple of months ago. She smiles softly while tracing over each face until she got to hers. Sakura doesn't like the innocence coming from her smiling face. She's too soft-hearted.

Sighing, she gently places the picture on the window ledge and gets up.

"First, I need to shower. Second, I need to find an apartment. Third, finish packing. Fourth, move in." She glances at the clock hanging above her desk. The Haruno's left almost two hours ago and she only half-heartedly packed some of her belongings while moping about. Walking over to her mirror, she strips out of her outer dress leaving her only in her black shorts and cropped fishnet under tank.

Her scar sticks out like a sore thumb. It's about an inch below her belly button, stretching from one side of her stomach all the way over to the other side, about half an inch wide.

"You're ugly," Sakura laughs. "So ugly, but also kind of beautiful in a way." She reaches up and traces the scar on her shoulder. "Not so bad." It's about half a foot long, starting from the top of her shoulder and going down her arm.

Naruto's kind words can be heard deep inside her head courtesy of Inner, but Sakura ignores them for the time being. She looks down at the dress she dropped to the floor. It belonged to her mothe - no - it belonged to Mrs. Haruno when she was younger. It has tears around the sleeves and across the bottom, the edges fraying.

"Today's the last day I wear you," she mumbles to herself while walking over to her dresser and pulls over a towel from the bottom drawer.

Sakura walks into her bathroom and looks around. A lot of the decor is pink and white themed. Pretty, but no longer necessary. She places her towel on the rack by the shower-tub and turns on the water to a heat she can barely stand. Walking over to the sink, she opens the mirror to the cabinet behind it and pulls out lavender scented bubble bath and epsom salt. She dumps two handfuls of salt in the tub and adds a generous amount of bubble bath.

When the tub is nearly filled, large bubbles start to float up from it and dance around the bathroom. Sakura smiles briefly. The room smells wonderful. It takes her but a moment to rid herself of the rest of her clothes before stepping into the tub. The nearly to hot water is a welcomed difference than Wave's misty weather. With a sigh, she sinks deep into the tub until her chin is resting on top the water. Her shoulder and stomach ache for a few minutes until they get used to the heat, the rest of her skin having gone numb quickly.

She soaks for a while, mind racing over the different places she needs to check out. The bonus from the mission is a great help. The money she's racked up over the last few years can definitely allow her to rent a decent place for now.

"If I'm lucky, I might even find a place with standard furniture..."

* * *

"That was...wonderful," she whispers to herself. Ridding herself of the dirt and grime from under her finger nails, washing her hair, and everything greatly improved her mood.

She's currently standing in front of her bathroom mirror, seeing only parts of her reflection from where she wiped the moisture away with her hand. Her towel is wrapped tightly around her body and her pink hair is pulled back completely in a tight, high bun. Her skin is tinted a light red, but her body is thankful for the soak. The aches gone.

"It's nice to be officially clean." She opens the mirror cabinet and pulls out a couple of her skincare items. A serum and moisturizer. As far as skincare goes, this is the most she does and it keeps her face clear, bright, and healthy. "How I've missed you both." She kisses both items. "At least some things haven't changed."

When she's done, Sakura winks at herself before giggling. While she is still upset from the events earlier, at least she feels much better than before. Cleaner. Fresher. Sakura walks out of the bathroom and to her closet. She spares a glance at the window and takes note of the bright sun high in the sky.

"It might be humid from the rain," she says out loud. "So nothing too, too heavy."

Digging around, Sakura frowns when she realizes that a lot of her dresses resemble the red qipao dress still on the floor in front of her mirror. "No more red," she mumbles. She gives up rather quickly and closes the doors to her closet. Instead, she moves to the dresser and digs around in the top drawer for her spare tops.

Eventually, she decides on a black tank top with a cropped bright pink hoodie with baggy sleeves and black shorts, just a little shorter than the shorts she normally wears with her regular outfit. "Good enough." She dresses quickly.

"I'll do my laundry late tonight so I don't disturb them." Sakura knows her paren - damn it, no! - the  _Haruno's_  are back and are sitting in the living room. Not wanting to be confronted, Sakura merely shoves her dirty clothes in a corner and looks at herself in the mirror. She has grown into her forehead since her young days and she likes the idea of it being in a bun. She pulls some of her side bangs out, however, to frame her face just a bit.

"I look really different!" She laughs cheerfully to herself. "I like it!" Much of her clothing came as hand-me-downs. There's nothing wrong with that, but they didn't suit her body type all that well. The clothes shes wearing now are more comfortable and stylish. With confidence, Sakura picks up her forehead protector - laughing internally - and ties it onto her head much like she normally does when her hair is down.

She walks over to her desk where she placed her hip and thigh pouch and puts them on. Feeling satisfied with her appearance and holding her head high, Sakura walks over to her window and picks up the picture of her team. With a smile, she moves it out of the way and opens the window. Not hesitating, she jumps through it to the ledge on the other side and closes it gently.

She sets off to the nearest apartment complex.

* * *

Sakura is used to the looks she gets around the village. She is the only person with pink hair after all. It also doesn't help that she choose to wear a hoodie that's nearly identical in color to her hair, but she smiles nonetheless, greets the passer-bys, and waves at little kids.

When she arrives at the first apartment complex, Sakura immediately heads for the renter's office. Upon entering, she is greeted by an elderly woman smoking a pipe. Several cats are walking around the office, most don't bother to spare her a glance.

"How can I help you, young miss?"

Sakura offers her a smile. "I was wondering if you had any one bedroom apartments available and if so, what would be the cost?"

The woman shakes her head with a sad smile. "I'm sorry, dear. I just rented out the last one. I'd recommend you try the ones over by the hospital. Rents pretty cheap and most rooms come with furniture."

Smile becoming strained, Sakura nods. "Thank you, ma'am. Have a nice day."

"You too, dear. Best of luck to you."

Sakura manages to leave with her head held high but she's already feeling nervous. She doesn't want to end up on the street with her belongings.

 _Maybe I should talk to Kakashi-sensei?_ , Sakura thinks.  _Get some advice._  Then she shakes her head.  _No. I can do this on my own. I can be independent._  But as the day continues, her hopes fall short. The apartments by the hospital are a bust. From there, she is directed to another complex by the Hokage's Tower. That doesn't work out either.

The sun is setting when she decides to take a break by the bridge she and her teammates' meet-up at for training. She walks aimlessly towards one of the trees while gazing around. The sunset gives the area a beautiful glow and Sakura feels at peace - "Oof!"

And she's one the ground.

"Troublesome woman." There's only one person she knows that talks like that. Sakura rolls over and sits up only to come face-to-face with Shikamaru. He regards her with slight interest, eyes roaming over her, before dropping onto his back, eyes falling closed.

"Sorry," Sakura says sheepishly. "I wasn't paying attention."

Shikamaru only hums in reply. Sakura tilts her head while looking at him before looking up. They're under one of the bigger trees near the red bridge, the spot gives her a good view of the Hokage Mountain and the lovely sunset behind it. The stress of today's situation rears its ugly head into the front of her mind. Sakura sighs sadly. She has no family to call her own now. No mom or dad to go home to.

Following Shikamaru's example, Sakura shifts until she's right next to him and then proceeds to sit there while gazing up at the Hokage Mountain. She remains silent for nearly half an hour before breaking it.

"Are you awake?" she asks quietly.

Shikamaru sighs before sitting up. "Yes." He looks at her. "What inspired the change?"

Sakura shrugs good-naturedly. "Some things have happened recently. It's time for a change."

"I heard you got back from Wave this afternoon."

Sakura raises an eyebrow.

Shikamaru scratches the back of his head. "My dad mentioned something about it. How was it?"

"The start was fine, the middle sucked, and the ending has some questionable occurrences." She grins. "There's a bridge named after my team in Wave."

"Lucky," Shikamaru mutters. "My team's been stuck with D-Rank missions for months now."

"Naruto got sick of them and damned a C-Rank. It was supposed to be a simple escort mission, but the client lied. What was supposed to be C-Rank...ended up B-Rank. Kakashi-sensei even said it had the possibility of being A-Rank."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru shakes his head.

"Tell me about it," Sakura laughs. "I and the others were roughed up a bit, but we managed."

They fall into companionable silence for a few minutes. Shikamaru is looking at the sunset and Sakura is looking at Shikamaru. The light from the fading sun makes his hair look darker than it is. Sakura makes a mental note of how nice Shikamaru's side-profile is.

"So," she begins. "What brings you all the way over here? Isn't the Nara compound on the other side of the village?"

Shikamaru yawns. "Was running some errands for my dad. Got tired."

Sakura giggles into her hand. "Sounds like you."

"And you?" He asks.

She hesitates to reply. She doesn't necessarily need to tell Shikamaru about her situation, but it wouldn't hurt to ask him about apartments or lodging. If push comes to shove, she'll pay for an Inn until she can figure something out.

"I'm looking for an apartment," she says finally. "One bedroom, preferably with furniture already in it. I tried the place near my...parents home and over by the hospital and by the Hokage's Tower. But no such luck."

Instead of asking questions, Shikamaru stands up and offers her a hand. Surprised, Sakura takes it and allows herself to be pulled to her feet.

"Come on," he says while starting to walk away.

"Huh?" Sakura blinks. "Where are we going?"

"To my family's place."

"Why?" Sakura asks as she falls into step next to him.

"You'll see," is the only reply she gets.

Sakura only rolls her eyes but follows along. They walk in comfortable silence, passing by civilians out and about for last minute shopping. She sends smiles to all the kids walking with their parents despite feeling a tightening in her chest. The trip to Shikamaru's home is pleasant enough. The air is cooling down, something Sakura finds pleasant. Eventually, they start walking through the clan distract.

They arrive in about 20 minutes. They would have made better time by running on the rooftops, but Shikamaru didn't appear to be in a hurry. She laughs to herself. He has always been one to prefer taking things slow.

The compound is huge with several buildings she can only assume to be homes. Surrounding family members nod at Shikamaru, someone even calling out to him or wave, but all regard Sakura with curious looks. In the center of the compound is a large, friendly looking building. She knows this to be the main family's home. There are flowers along the edge of the building, it's white with black texture, and steady smoke is coming out through the top.

"It's lovely," Sakura says.

Shikamaru hums. "Tell that to my mom and she'll never let you leave." He motions for her to follow his lead through the front. "I'm back!" Sakura copies him in taking off her sandals.

"What took...you?" Nara Shikaku looks surprised upon showing up to greet his son. "Hello, I don't believe we've met?"

Sakura bows low, ignoring the stretch in her lower stomach muscles but before she can reply, Shikamaru beats her too it. "Dad, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is my dad."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Good evening, Shikaku-sama."

Shikaku blinks before grinning. He offers her his hand and she takes it with a smile. "A pleasure to meet you, Sakura." Then he tilts his head. "You wouldn't happen to be  _the_  Haruno Sakura?"

It takes everything within her to not flinch at the surname. Instead, she offers a strained smile. "That would be me, sir."

"You're the girl that's always been right behind Shikamaru in the Academy. Your test scores are impressive."

Sakura grins while Shikamaru covers his face. "Gathering and retaining information is a specialty. Plus, I like to read challenging material."

He nods, clearly impressed, and then looks at his son. "You can learn a thing or two more if you'd follow her lead." Sakura blushes while Shikamaru rolls his eyes. Shikaku looks back at Sakura. "If you're interested in different areas of study, you're more than welcomed to drop by. Any friend of Shikamaru is welcomed. Our library is rather big and holds information one might not normally find in the public library."

She dips her head. "Thank you, sir."

Shikaku grins before turning to his son. "Your mother is in the process of making dinner." He turns to Sakura. "Do you tilapia?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose." Her concern is waved off.

"Don't worry about it. My wife often makes more than necessary to feed everyone. Comes with having friends over throughout the week."

"If you're sure..."

"Just accept it, Sakura." Shikamaru groans. "Besides, you need to talk to my dad."

Sakura and Shikaku share a look of confusion.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "Sakura needs an apartment."

"Ah, okay. Go check on your mother in the kitchen. I'll take Sakura to the main room. Join us when you can." Sakura sends a look towards Shikamaru, but he just waves her towards his dad.

Sakura follows a step behind Shikaku, eyes roaming around. Everything is spacious, neat, but very welcoming.

"So, you're on Kakashi's team, right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes."

"How are you then? Heard you and your team got back from Wave earlier today. The client lied on his request form."

Sakura nods. "By the time we found out, we were already dealing with the assassins after him. There was no guarantee that we'd be left alone if we abandoned the mission. It was...rough." She sighs. "We got hurt pretty badly."  _We nearly died._

"I'm glad you and team returned safely."

She inclines her head. "Me as well, sir."

"So, you're looking for an apartment? You're pretty young to be living on your own and I'm aware you come from the civilian section. May I inquire as to why you are looking?" They arrive at their destination and he motions for her to take a seat before he sits across from her.

Sakura bites her lip, eyes focusing on the table between them.

"I was disowned mid-afternoon." Saying it out loud makes Sakura want to cover her face. Instead, she looks up and sees his stunned expression. She continues. "My parents," she stops and shakes her head. "Mr. and Mrs. Haruno do not approve of my career choice. They gave me an ultimatum to which I refused. I've been given until tomorrow evening to get out with my belongings." Her eyes sting. She's faced with the horrible realization that she wants to cry.

"You're from the civilian sector and most of Konoha's forces come from clans," he states. Sakura nods her head slowly. She knows this. "I'm truly sorry to hear that, Sakura-san. I cannot imagine what you must be feeling right now."

"They told me they were only indulging me when enrolling me into the Academy." She laughs. It comes out bitter. "They had hope that I'd get it out of system and then do something more 'productive.'" Shikaku frowns but remains silent as she continues. "The mission to Wave didn't go as planned and coming home after so long pushed them to the edge." There's a hitch in her voice. "Mr. Haruno told me there'd be no shinobi in his family."

She didn't realize she is crying until someone presses a cloth against her face. Blinking through her tears, she looks up to see Shikamaru sitting next to her.

"Thank you," she whispers and dabs her eyes. "Gosh, I'm such a crybaby."

"It's one stressful situation on top of another. Don't apologize." It's Shikaku who says this. "But in regards to your situation, the Nara family provides housing for orphaned children until they reach 18 years of age regardless of what occupation they choose. After which, they may stay by paying a low monthly rent. Your situation is similar in a way so the offer is open."

Sakura's mind goes blank for a moment. "What?"

Shikamaru nudges her. "You can stay in my family's apartments, Sakura."

Shikaku sighs. "I'm not one to turn away a kid in need. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the only apartments available right now are three-bedrooms. Basic furniture is provided. One bed, one dresser, built-in closet, and desk in each room. A coffee table, dining table with four chairs, a couch, plus a love seat are also included for the kitchen slash living room. Dishware is provided upon request. There's a laundry mat on each floor at the end of the hall. What else am I missing?" He rubs his chin. "You take care of your trash, provide your own food, etcetera. Sounds good?"

She smiles sincerely. "It more than I could ever ask for."

"When do you think you'll be ready to move in?"

"When I go h - I mean - go back tonight, I will finish packing. I'll be meeting my teammates for lunch tomorrow. We didn't come up with a time, but Kakashi-sensei wants us to meet-up at 12 for training, which is really 2 PM for him. So before 11 tomorrow? Assuming lunch will be around 11. Tomorrow evening is too vague of a time for me to officially leave."

"How's nine o'clock sound?"

"Sounds good. And I'm really grateful, Shikaku-sama. I was...well, to be honest, I was ready to give up already and just start living in an Inn until I found a place. It's a good thing I tripped over Shikamaru."

Shikaku raises an eyebrow before turning to his son. "Should I be concerned about you having girls fall at your feet?" Simultaneously, Sakura and Shikamaru look at each other, blush, and then quickly look away.

"Troublesome old man," Sakura hears quietly from next to her. "That wasn't appropriate."

"What isn't appropriate?"

Sakura looks up to see a pretty woman with her dark brown hair pulled back into a low bun, white bandana keeping it in place, holding a tray of hot tea.

"Dad's comments."

Nara Yoshino raises an eyebrow at her husband. "And what, husband dear, are these comments?"

Not wanting to relive that brief moment of embarrassment, Sakura intervenes politely. "Is that jasmine tea with lemon zest?"

Blinking, Yoshino grins. "Correct! Are you a fan?"

Sakura shoots her a smile. "I enjoy it with oyakodon." She sees the thankful look on Shikaku's face and keeps herself from grinning.

"Me too!" Yoshino turns to her husband and son. "I like her!" She's pointing to Sakura whose face goes red again and proceeds to serve her tea first. "Dinner will be ready soon." Turning to Sakura, she grins. "Hope you're hungry."

Sakura is. She hasn't eaten all day, quickly losing her appetite moments after returning to what she thought was home. Instead, she smiles and nods politely.

* * *

Dinner with Shikamaru's family doesn't go the way Sakura expects. Halfway through, Yoshino and Shikaku butt-heads over something seemingly unimportant. It takes Sakura several minutes to realize that they're flirting and in doing so, ducks her head to hide a smile and continue eating.

The food is excellent. Shikaku wasn't kidding when he said his wife made more than what would be deemed necessary for their small group. The fish is cooked to perfection and pairs nicely with the sticky white rice, tea, and fried vegetables. She tries not to stuff her face, but the food is so good and so welcomed.

"So, Sakura-chan, how is the food?" Yoshino asks before taking a sip of her cooling tea.

"It's wonderful. The best I've had in weeks."

Yoshino grins clearly appreciating the praise. "I can imagine. Food on the road isn't nearly as pleasant as home-cooked meals."

"I agree," Shikaku says. He places more rice into his bowl.

Sakura nods. "My team and I were provided with food by our client's family for our way back, but it lasted only about a week. We snacked on ramen and protein bars the rest of the way. This is actually my first meal today." She didn't bother with the leftovers in the fridge at her p - at the Haruno's.

"If that's the case, then eat to your heart's content! I'll be sure to send you home with some so that you may share with your family."

It's such an innocent statement, but Sakura can't fight the flinch.

"Mom..." Shikamaru starts but stops immediately when Sakura shakes her head.

"It's alright," she tells him before turning to his mother, her smile strained. "I don't have a family anymore, Yoshino-sama. I was disowned earlier this afternoon."

Eyes going wide, Yoshino hastily apologizes. "I'm so sorry. Do you have a place to stay? We have plenty of room!"

"She'll be moving into one of our apartments tomorrow morning, dear," Shikaku states. "She has to be out by tomorrow evening."

"That's a big apartment for one person. It may get lonely."

"I don't mind. It gives me a lot of space."

Yoshino nods slowly. She looks like she wants to ask something else, but chooses not to. Sakura  _knows_  what she wants to ask.

"You can ask me, Yoshino-sama."

"What could cause your par - guardians - to disown you?" Sakura appreciates the quick catch.

"They don't approve of my career choice," Sakura pauses to take a sip of her now cold tea. "They want me to do something more 'productive' with my time."

Yoshino's face adopts an angry look and even Shikamaru looks annoyed. She sees him send his father a look, not understanding the silent exchange between them.

"If they didn't approve of your career choice, why would they pay to put you through the Academy?"

Sakura laughs. It comes out bitter. She misses the concerned looks exchanged between the Naras. "They stated that they were indulging me in hopes that, by the time I graduated, I would have gotten all notion of being a kunoichi out of my head." She grins down at her plate. "They were wrong."

"Indeed. There's been talk of your recent mission to Wave." Yoshino pours herself more tea.

"And the gossip continues," Shikaku mumbles into his bowl of rice.

Yoshino snorts gracefully. Sakura doesn't know how she does it, but she does. It makes her smile. "You, Inoichi, and Choza are some of the worst gossips I know."

"If you don't mind me asking, what has been said?"

They turn to her, both their faces grim. "It could have been A-Rank," Shikaku starts. "It  _should_  have been classified as A-Rank. You and your teammates are recently graduated genin. To hear that a team of genin,  _regardless_  of who their sensei is, taking on two Mist nin in a foreign area is impressive. Especially when one of them is a  _missing-nin_. Winning? Even more impressive. It shows potential." He waves his hand. "Gets you noticed.

Sakura nods. "I see. That's good, I suppose."

"I hope Kakashi has a good schedule set up for you and your teammates for the next month and a half."

At this, Shikamaru groans. "Asuma-sensei makes us get up too early."

"Why the emphasis on the next month and a half?" Sakura asks.

And just like that, she's under three varying looks of surprise.

"For the chunin exams, Sakura. They're towards the end of next month."

Sakura tilts her head in confusion at Shikamaru. "Chunin exams?"

Shikamaru only responds by rubbing a hand other his face while muttering, "What a drag."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always liked Shikamaru and his family. As for Sakura's parents...well, I definitely took creative liberty in writing them. If you have the time, please review.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Surprise, surprise!_

_Look at all you have to do!_

_Good luck managing time._

"Do you think you'll need anything else?" Shikaku asks while tapping his pen against the clipboard in his hand.

Sakura looks around her apartment with a sense of accomplishment. The boxes with her belongings are stacked neatly off to one side. The place has been dusted and wiped down; everything is sparkling. And there's so much space it's laughable. Sakura particularly likes the color scheme of black and silver. Black walls, silver furniture. The window blinds have been pulled up to let the sunlight filter through to avoid turning on the light.

"I think I can handle everything else, Shikaku-sama. And I apologize for my dress." Sakura remains embarrassed about staying up all night and not changing into fresh clothes for the day.

The older man chuckles slightly before nodding. He writes something down on his clipboard before handing it over to her. There are markings on the lease, his initials next to them, and a line at the bottom for her to sign her name. The front page of a thin packet.

"Read through that carefully and then sign it if you are satisfied." He looks out the window. "It's just hitting 10, give or take five minutes, and I have to be somewhere in 10 minutes. I'll let you keep that and you can drop by the house this evening to drop that off."

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you." Sakura accepts the clipboard with a blush.

Shikaku waves her off. "No worries, Sakura-chan. I can only hope things work out for you. Look at this as a fresh start." He eyes her boxes up and down. "It's going to take you a while to unpack those. I'll send my lazy son over to help."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to bother Shikamaru. He's probably training with his team, right? For the chunin exams?"

"His sensei won't be back until this evening. He took the opportunity to sleep in." Shikaku shakes his head. "That lazy son of mine."

Sakura giggles behind her free hand. "Sounds like him. He fell asleep in class a lot but still managed top testing scores. He's a prime example of a lazy genius."

She receives a grin.

"Alrighty, Sakura-chan. I'll be seeing you later. Don't forget to meet up with your teammates for lunch and make sure to question that lazy sensei of yours about the chunin exams."

"Bye, Shikaku-sama! And thank you for the help!"

He waves at her, steps outside, and is gone in a puff of smoke.

Sakura closes the door and looks around her apartment with a grin and grips the lease tightly. If what Shikaku said is true, then she has about an hour to unpack some things and freshen up before meeting up with Naruto and Sasuke. She walks over to her primary bag (the one she set aside full of personal hygiene, some undergarments, her team picture, and a few other nicknacks) and picks it up and proceeds to walk over to the dining table, place the lease down with the bag, and open it. First things first, she pulls out her team picture and places it on the window ledge next to the table.

"Just for now," she mumbles. Next, she pulls out her brush and comb set along with some hair ties. After that, it's a couple of pieces of jewelry, some spare band-aids, and a few other things like gum and dental floss and her tooth brush and toothpaste.

Abandoning the bag on the table, Sakura sets about making a list of things she'll need to pick up after the team's meet-up and - hopefully - training session. "New bed sheets, curtains, cleaning supplies, fresh produce...maybe decor to liven up this place?" She looks around and nods.

After that, Sakura moves to one of the smaller boxes containing her clothes. She doesn't have a lot, considering she left behind much of the hand-me-downs in her old closet. Digging around, she settles for a black tank top, matching shorts that stop above her knee, and a similar cropped hoodie to the one she wore last night, only viridian in color. Sakura bought it some time ago when the store clerk told her it matched her eyes.

 _And it's true_ , she thinks.  _And very pretty._

Sakura walks into the bedroom she claimed as her own (the largest one of the three) and changes. She spends a moment looking at her scars. Both stand out against her pale skin, but neither feels tight anymore.

"They're a part of me now," Sakura whispers to herself. "Get over it."

She walks back into the dining room and picks up her brush. Sakura makes quick work of braiding her hair loosely over her shoulder, securing it with a hair tie, and throwing it back over her shoulder without a care. The braid rests lightly against her back. Just as she's about to start the serious unpacking, there's a knock on her door.

Sakura walks over to the door and opens it and then proceeds to roll her eyes. "Good morning, Shikamaru." The boy only half-heartedly glares at her. It's clear his clothes were just thrown on. She rolls her eyes again. "You can't sleep all day, you know?"

Shikamaru runs a hand over his face and sighs. "My dad told my mom to get me up and she's never nice about that. I was thrown out of bed, Sakura. It's not a good way to wake up."

"You poor baby," Sakura replies with a grin.

Shikamaru grunts before thrusting a basket at her. Blinking in confusion, Sakura accepts it with one hand and opens the top lid with the other. Inside are clear boxes filled with different types of food, some drinks (including milk), half a dozen of eggs, and some candies.

"You didn't have a chance to go shopping for groceries," he looks away, face a light red. "So I told my mom and she put it together."

"That's really sweet of you, Shikamaru. Thank you. And please tell your mom I said thank you as well."

"She wants you to drop by for dinner tonight. Something about...girl talk or whatever."

Containing her curiosity, Sakura nods. "Um, sure. I plan to stop by anyway to hand in the signed lease." She steps back. "And since you're here..." She waves to the boxes behind her.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes at her grin. "Whatever."

"Let's get to work!" Sakura cheers.

* * *

"Why do you have so many lipglosses?"

"I had a thing for a while."

"Some of these are new."

"Shut up."

* * *

Sakura is roughly ten minutes late to the ramen place Naruto likes to frequent. It's the only place she can think of considering neither she nor the boys decided when and where to meet up. Upon her arrival, Sakura stops and stares. It appears Naruto convinced Sasuke to another eating contest. Both are scarfing down their ramen like mad while several bowls are stacked in front of them.

"Boys," she mutters while shaking her head.

"Hm - hell - oh, Sak -ack!" Sakura walks over and thumps Naruto on the back twice to stop his choking.

"Chew before you speak, dummy. What would Sasuke and I do if you die?!"

"S-Sorry," Naruto manages through deep breaths.

"Idiot," Sasuke calls.

Sakura closes her eyes briefly, praying for patience.

"What'd you say, asshole?"

"Honestly, you two." Sakura shakes her head. "I just wanna' eat and meet up with Kakashi-sensei. Can't this wait until later?"

Naruto immediately scoots over and pats the seat between him and Sasuke. "Take a seat, Sakura-chan! I like the outfit!" Sasuke glances at her up and down - Sakura's face heats up - but says nothing.

"Thank you." Sakura orders a simple shoyu ramen with extra chicken and waits. "How are you both? Feel better?"

Naruto slurps his noodles enthusiastically and nods. "Much better now that you're here, Sakura-chan." Sakura only rolls her eyes and laughs softly behind her hand. When Sasuke doesn't reply, she nudges his shoulder gently. "Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm fine."

Sakura grins; satisfied. "That's good. I'm glad for both of you."

Naruto downs the broth of his bowl and burps. At Sakura annoyed look, he sheepishly apologizes. "What about you, Sakura-chan? You're parents happy to see ya'?"

It takes everything in her not to flinch.

"It went...well, Naruto. They couldn't stay h-home all day so I only saw them for a little bit."

"Well, now we're back in the village so you can see them more often." Naruto grins.

Sakura is thankful her food is placed in front of her so she didn't have to look at Naruto. Her shoulders slump a little, but the food is hot. And, decidedly, not bad. She's not the biggest ramen fan. Preferring less broth and more meat.

"I wonder what Kakashi-sensei will have us go over today? I mean, we just came back from a mission and stuff." Naruto places his chopsticks down.

"He'll probably have us take D-Rank missions for a while," Sasuke throws in. He places his chopsticks down as well.

"Or maybe he'll talk to us about the chunin exams?"

"Chunin exams?" Naruto asks. "What's that?"

"And where did you hear that?"

Both her teammates look at her expectingly. Sakura takes her time to eat some of her chicken before replying, "I came across Shikamaru last night."

"Why?" Sakura blinks at Sasuke. There's an unreadable expression on his face.

"Because I can?" She rolls her eyes. "I went for a...walk and stumbled across him."  _More like tripped over..._  "He told me about them. His team is training for them. The chunin exams are what you think they are. A two or three part exam that allows genin the opportunity to rise to the rank of chunin. Doing so will increase the types of missions assigned." At Naruto's awed face, she continues. "You get to showcase your abilities."

"When are they?" Naruto asks with a wide grin.

"At the end of next month."

"So a month and a half to train," Sasuke replies. "Kakashi better has a good training schedule."

Sakura snorts.

Naruto laughs out load.

"It's Kakashi-sensei! When is he ever prepared?!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes but doesn't reply. Sakura only smiles to herself. She continues to eat her meal while Sasuke remains silent and Naruto talks loudly about any old thing. When it falls to their mission in Wave, Sakura rubs the clothing over her stomach scar.

"You'll be okay."

Sakura blinks before turning her head towards Sasuke just a little. "Sasuke-kun?"

"It's a part of you now."

"I know," she whispers back. "It'll just take me some time to get used to it."

Sasuke hums.

" - and then Kakashi-sensei said Sakura-chan stabbed him! With a  _kunai_! Just  _one_!" Naruto exclaims while he wraps an arm around Sakura's shoulder. "She saved us."

"Naruto..." Sakura mumbles.

"We got lucky," Sasuke states. "But Sakura did well."

The combined praise from her teammates has Sakura blushing at her half-eaten ramen. It's not often - or ever, really - that Sasuke would offer praise to anyone and Naruto has always been kind with his words.

"Thank you, Naruto. Sasuke-kun."

The rest of lunch goes by smoothly. Naruto and Sasuke fall into a petty argument over the Wave mission, but Sakura doesn't mind that they're talking over her. It's nice for all of them to fall back into their familiar attitudes...sort of.

* * *

"You know we have about two hours to kill before he shows up, right?" Sakura takes a seat by the river, slipping off her sandals in the process to let her feet rest in the water.

"This is lame! I wanna' train!"

"Idiot."

"What'd you say asshole?!"

Sakura rolls her eyes skyward, silently begging the higher ups for patience.

* * *

She is wrong.

Kakashi doesn't show up two hours late. He shows up one hour and forty-four minutes late. An improvement in her opinion. He appears in a puff of smoke between Naruto and Sasuke - both stuck in a near hour argument over the uses of cloning - and claps them both on the shoulder.

"Hello, my cute little students. I trust your lunch went well?"

"It was nice, Kakashi-sensei, but would have been better if you were there." Sakura shrugs with a smile.

"Mah, Sakura-chan. I had to do things for the Hokage."

"Like entering us in the chunin exams?" Sasuke asks.

Kakashi tilts his head. "Where did you hear about that?"

"From Sakura-chan!"

"And where did you hear about that, Sakura-chan?"

"From Nara," Sasuke replies, voice kind of snappish. Kakashi sends a look to Sakura, who only smiles, before sighing to himself. A picture of defeat.

"It was supposed to be a surprise..." He sounds sad.

Sakura knows he's faking it.

"Anyways, yes. I did, in fact, enter you three into the chunin exam. I think it'd do you some good."

"Yay!" Naruto pumps a fist into the air. "We're gonna' kick some ass!"

Sakura sees the corner of Sasuke's mouth twitch into an almost, but not quite, smile. She finds herself smiling full blown while looking at both her teammates.

"For now, we are going to train. I have a schedule set up for all three of you."

"Really?" Sakura asks, skeptical.

"Have faith in your sensei, Sakura-chan!" The look in his eye has Sakura giggle behind one of her hands.

"Sure thing, sensei."

"What's the schedule?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. First, let's find out what your chakra affinities are." Kakashi pulls out a small stack of papers - within a plastic wrap - from his hip pouch. "You will need to touch one of these papers. Whatever happens to it will determine your chakra type or types."

"Oh! Me first! Me first!" Naruto hops forward.

Kakashi chuckles before holding out the stack. Naruto grabs one and immediately the paper splits in two.

"Wind," Kakashi states. "That's nice Naruto. It gives you many choices in regards to ninjutsu."

Sasuke steps forward. "I know I have an affinity with fire, but I want to see if there's anything else." Kakashi doesn't reply as he holds out the stack again.

Sasuke takes it and the paper immediately crinkles.

Kakashi nods. "Lightning. Very nice." And then he turns to Sakura. "Your turn."

Sakura gets up, not bothering to put her sandals back on, and walks the few feet to stand in front of Kakashi. He holds out the stack and she takes a sheet. Nothing happens.

"Maybe it's defective," Naruto states.

Sakura rolls her eyes despite dread filling her stomach. She takes another sheet, but again, nothing happens. She looks at Kakashi who appears just as confused as she is.

"That hasn't happened in a long time," he says.

"What does this mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asks.

"It can mean a few things, really. In some cases, it means you have an affinity for all types. Could mean your chakra type can't be determined yet. Could mean you have spiritual chakra. Or it could mean...something else." He looks away.

Sakura knows what that look means.

"Is there any way for her to find out for sure?" Sasuke asks. "She has perfect chakra control."

"And she's good at recognizing genjutsu!" Naruto adds.

"Unfortunately," Kakashi starts, "chakra control and genjutsu recognization do not determine one's affinity." He turns to Sakura. "Fortunately, there's a specialist at the hospital you can see. They may be able to help you. Regardless, this won't change our training schedule. For now, we will put this aside," Sakura's shoulders slump, "and focus on why I asked for us to meet up today." Kakashi runs a gloved hand through his spiky hair. "I thought about letting you three take a day since we just got back yesterday, but I get the feeling you wouldn't appreciate that."

"What's the goal for today?" Sakura asks, smile small.

Kakashi smiles in return. "Gather around my cute students." He takes a seat on the ground. "Empty your pouches. All three of you." Confused, Sakura follows her teammates in forming a half circle in front of their sensei, taking a seat, and proceeding to dump both her pouches.

"That's not a lot, dope." Sakura rolls her eyes at the snide comment.

"Yeah, well, I forgot to refill them."

"Lack of weapons can mean life or death, Naruto." Sakura sighs before shaking her head. "You need to be ready at all times."

"Sakura-chan is correct," Kakashi states before Naruto can speak. "Not refilling your pouch is a rookie mistake."

Naruto's shoulders slump. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. Sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

"It's okay for right now," Kakashi replies. He pats Naruto's shoulder. "Now, let's go through each other's pouches."

Naruto (hip pouch): four shurikens, a handful of makibishi spikes, two smoke bombs, and one flash bomb.

Sasuke (hip pouch): 10+ shuriken of varying sizes, 10 kunai, a handful of makibishi spikes, eight smoke bombs, a dozen of senbon needles, and six flash bombs.

"Sakura-chan has two pouches." Kakashi nods approvingly. "Very smart."

She only blushes.

Sakura (hip pouch): 10+ shuriken of varying sizes, roughly three handfuls of makibishi spikes, 10 smoke bombs, and 10 flash bombs.

Sakura (thigh pouch): 10+ kunai, two dozen senbon needles, and two 12-inch chains.

"On our mission in Wave, the one to use weapons the most is Sasuke. Naruto used none. Sakura-chan used one. However," Kakashi strokes his chin, "in terms of readiness, Sakura-chan is the most well prepared. The mission in Wave is one of many you will face during your career as a shinobi. Assuming, of course, that you plan to continue your path after the chunin exams. Part of being your sensei is to make sure you're ready to face trickier situations as you grow."

He sighs. "You need to have a variety of weapons at your disposal." He looks at each of them separately. "And you need to be able to use them correctly."

"We learned in the Acadamy," Sasuke states. "It's not difficult."

Sakura looks away when Kakashi's lingering gaze falls to her.

"You're from a prestigious clan and a considerable genius with 'natural talent' who excelled in all areas in the Acadamy, Sasuke. But even genius' need a refresher at times."

Sasuke huffs but doesn't reply.

"Sakura." Her attention snaps to Kakashi. "What is a weakness of Sasuke's in regards to weaponry?"

Under the intense gazes of her teammates, Sakura closes her eyes to think...

"Sasuke-kun has a difficult time maneuvering between weapons under pressure." She doesn't look in Sasuke's direction.

"Agreed," Kakashi replies. He turns to Sasuke. "Tell me a weakness Naruto has with his weapons."

"His kunai are too big for his hands. He can only handle one, maybe two, at a time."

"Hey!" Naruto exclaims. "Kunai are big."

Kakashi leans forward and picks up one of Naruto's kunai and one of Sakura's. "Look at the size difference, Naruto. Sakura's suit her hands because they are smaller and easier for her to grip. You need to downsize."

"But...," Naruto trails off, looking away.

"Finish your sentence, Naruto."

"Iruka-sensei got them for me." Naruto fiddles with his thumbs. "A gift before going on our Wave mission."

Sakura watches as Kakashi heaves a sigh. "You don't have to get rid of them, Naruto, but you need to be able to perform to the best of your ability. Especially when it comes to missions. Like Sakura-chan said, it could be a matter of life or death. You'll need a new set until you grew into the ones you own now."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good." He nods at Naruto. "Your turn. Tell me a weakness regarding Sakura-chan and her weapons."

Sakura blinks several times when Naruto leans in close to look at her, his face set to a determined expression.

"Sakura-chan...doesn't really use her weapons." He rubs his neck. "Sorry, Sakura-chan."

"Don't apologize, Naruto. You're right." Sakura pats his knee. She looks at Kakashi and sighs. "You've seen my test scores, sensei. I excelled in written exams, but fall behind in the other areas. That includes weapon training. I'm...average, at best."

She receives a nod. "I am aware, but it's a good thing you've been placed on a team like this." He shoots her his signature eye smile. "You'll benefit from your teammates and they from you. And you're not as bad as you think. For one, your chakra control is the best I've seen in years. You're well prepared for missions."

"But I lag behind in ninjutsu and taijutsu and -," he cuts her off.

"Mah mah, Sakura-chan. We will work on all of that, okay?" She nods, but her hopes aren't high. Kakashi pulls a slip of paper out of his hip pouch and unfolds it. He turns it so it faces the three of them.

"This is your schedule for the next two weeks."

Sakura's eyes go wide.

Team Seven's Schedule:

Laps (around the village, 25), Push-ups (300), Sit-ups (250) (Ground 3, 4 AM - 7 AM)

Weight lifting (7:15 AM - 9 AM)

Meditation (9:15 AM - 10 AM) and/or Light jogging (Ground 3, 10 - 15 laps)

*Lunch Break (10:15 AM - 11 AM)

Weapon training (11:15 AM - 2 PM)

Sparring(2:30 PM - 5:45 PM) - KH

*Dinner (6 PM - 6:30 PM)

Ninjutsu (6:45 PM - 10 PM) - KH

"We're doing this for two whole weeks?!" Naruto asks loudly. " _Holy shit_."

"Are you serious about being a shinobi?" Kakashi questions while crossing his arms.

Sakura tenses along with the others. "Yes!"

"Then you'll follow this schedule for the next two weeks. What happens after that schedule each day is up to you." At Sakura's puzzled face, he continues. "I set this up so your next two weeks are very busy. Morning to night. In some cases, shinobi are required to work on few hours of sleep. You're young. You need to build up your stamina now. You have six hours between each day to decide."

"It's a lot, sensei," Sakura says.

"Yes, yes it is. But that is why I'm giving you the choice. I don't mind staying up late to focus on other things."

"Staying up late will only make you late," Sasuke replies. "You'll sleep in during the early hours when we get up to do this." Naruto nods rapidly.

"Again, the choice is there."

"If we want to go home and rest?" Sakura asks.

"Then you go home and rest," Kakashi replies.

"If we...want to keep training?"

She can see the barest hint of his mask covered lips tilt up. "Then you keep training."

"And if we want to train with you? As a team?" Sasuke asks, catching on to what Sakura is doing.

"If that's what you want, Sasuke-chan."

Sakura turns her head away to hide a grin as Sasuke scowls at their sensei. Naruto crackles.

"I'll be checking on you throughout your time completing this day-to-day schedule."

Cocking an eyebrow, Sakura replies, "Really?"

"Such little faith you have in me, Sakura-chan."

"I'm asking honestly, sensei."

"I want you three to succeed in this schedule, in the chunin exams, and as shinobi."

"What happens after the next two weeks are up?" Naruto asks. "Do we get to do some super cool training?"

"I have something planned but it depends on your results of your two-week intense training."

"Why?" It's Sasuke who asks this.

"Because it will help me decide on whether or not to move you to part two or skip that part completely."

"So, there are parts? Two weeks to one part so we're done right in time for the exams?"

Kakashi nods. "That is correct. Now for today, since you three are here, we're going to do target practice. Gather up your weapons and follow me. We're going to Ground 3."

Sakura gingerly gathers all that she dumped on the ground, taking care to put them back in her pouches exactly the way she packed them and stands up. She, along with Naruto and Sasuke, head for Ground 3 after Kakashi disappears in a black streak. Sakura snorts. If he wanted them to follow him directly, he would have waited.

"I wonder how today will go," Sakura muses to the boys.

"Who cares," Naruto replies. "I'm looking forward to the intense training we're gonna' go through. It's gonna' be fun! I can just tell."

Sasuke hums softly. "I want to know what part two is. Our results will determine if he'll go through with that."

Sakura nods. "Me too. I don't exactly have the best stamina for something like this."

"Just do your best, Sakura." Sasuke shakes his head. "You too, idiot. Besides...we're doing this together."

"That's really sweet, Sasuke-kun." Sakura gently bumps her shoulder against his.

Naruto grins. "You're such a sap."

Sasuke looks away but Sakura can see the flush rising up his exposed neck. But she is speaking the truth. Her stamina isn't the greatest. Average, at best. She is grateful for the 15 minute breaks in-between, but 25 laps around the  _whole_  village is a lot. Sakura pauses. A wicked thought comes to mind.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun? Naruto?" She calls to them sweetly. They both stop to stare at her, expressions varying from confused to wary. "Race you!" She darts past them in a burst of happy adrenaline and laughs out loud when Naruto yells about her not being fair.

* * *

Chest heaving, Sakura collapses to the ground.

"O-Okay," she calls out. "I give. You both win."

Sasuke sends her a smirk while Naruto just grins with his arms behind his head. Neither show indications of being out of breath. No sweat. No flushed skin.

"Better luck next time, Sakura-chan!" Naruto gives her a thumbs up.

"What -," she breathes in deep, " - ever, Naruto." But she laughs anyway.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. The next two weeks should help with that."

Sakura doesn't jump like Naruto and Sasuke do. She had sensed that Kakashi was nearby just before entering Ground 3.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yells. "Don't scare us like that!"

"Ah, sorry." Sakura knows he isn't sorry. "Let's proceed." That's when she notices the targets at different heights on the trees across the clearing from where she and the others are. Each target is a different size.

"Target practice."

"You each have your strengths, but I want to see you use your weapons to the fullest today. Even you, Naruto. Try your best. Are you ready?"

Sakura stands and lines up between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Yes, sensei!"

Kakashi chuckles. "Let's begin."

* * *

"Sasuke, you need to stop tensing your fingers so much."

"Naruto, stop over thinking."

"Are you even trying, Sakura?"

Sakura barely conceals a flinch at the question and does not reply. Out of the three of them, she's barely hitting the target.

"Relax, Sakura-chan." Kakashi is next to her in a minute. He speaks softer. "Stop comparing yourself to Naruto and Sasuke. Focus on what  _you_  need to do in order to hit the target." When she misses again, he sighs. "You know, when I was a kid one of my teammates was pretty bad at hitting the center. My sensei suggested he think of the target as someone that really makes my teammate angry. Not just a random enemy, but someone who disappointed him or disrespected him. Why don't you give that a try?"

When she nods, Kakashi backs off. Sakura focuses at the five targets lined up the tree across from the tree branch she's currently standing on.

"Someone who disappointed me, huh?"

Kunai in one hand and senbon needles in the other, she closes her eyes.

_"...it's time you stop this foolishness...and do something more productive with your life..."_

Sakura opens her eyes and moves.

_"We are not part of a clan! You aren't needed!"_

Tears collect at the corner of her eyes.

_"...indulging you..."_

Anger starts to build up in her chest. Pure anger. And so much  _hurt_.

_"There will be no shinobi in this family."_

And then she stops. Tears leaving hot trails down her face. She closes her eyes.

"Woah! Great job, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yells from behind her but she doesn't reply. "Sakura-chan?" And then, "What did you say to her, sensei?!"

Sakura only manages to shake her head.

"Sakura."

She doesn't reply.

"Sakura, look at me."

A hand rests gently on her head. "Sakura-chan, look at how well you did."

Finally, she rubs at her eyes and looks up only to stop and stare at what she sees. Every kunai she had thrown, every needle she sent flying, is stuck at the center of each target.

"I'm really proud of you, Sakura-chan. You hit every center."

Sakura sniffles. "T-Thank you, sensei."

He ruffles her hair before backing away so Naruto can take his place. Naruto, her touch loving friend, doesn't hesitate to pull her into a hug.

"Don't cry, Sakura-chan! You did better than the asshole!"

"She did better than you, too, dumbass."

Sakura giggles against Naruto's neck. There giggle gets louder and the next thing she knows, she's laughing while sagging against Naruto. He smells like sweat, dirt, and miso soup, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Ah, let's continue for a few more hours and then we'll stop for today."

Sakura backs away and nods. "Yes, sensei." She smiles at Naruto. "Thank you."

Receiving a beaming smile in return, Sakura moves back to her position. Kakashi has already collected her weapons and placed them in a neat pile near the tree trunk. Sakura is thankful for the thick branches. Feeling as though someone is watching her closely, Sakura looks over to see Sasuke gazing at her directly.

He blinks.  _Want to talk about it?_

She shakes her head. _Not today._

He nods.  _Alright._

And they get back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a couple of ideas for Sakura's chakra affinity (or affinities), so look forward to that. If you have the time, please review.


	4. Chapter Four - Part One

**Chapter Four - Part One**

_Clear your mind,_

_Take a deep breath,_

_And move._

When they're dismissed from Ground 3, Sakura - despite being covered in sweat with her fingers aching - heads directly for the hospital in hopes that someone can help her figure out her chakra affinity. The sun is halfway set, covering the sky in yellows, oranges, and purples, but the air is cool. She passes villagers, offering smiles and waves, and quickens her pace when the hospital comes in view. Upon arriving, she enters and walks straight to the front desk. The woman behind the desk greets her with a kind smile.

"What can I help you with, honey?"

"I, um, need to see someone about figuring out my chakra affinity. When I touched the affinity determination paper my sensei brought, nothing happened."

The woman blinks before frowning. "That hasn't happened in years." Sakura bites her lip but doesn't reply. "Luckily, Kinato-san is still here." The woman points down the hallway to Sakura's right. "Walk to the end of the hall, turn left, and it's the first door on the left."

"Thank you, miss."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. And good luck!"

Sakura shoots her a smile before heading the way she is pointed to. She walks slow, dread filling her stomach. What if she doesn't have one? How can she be a kunoichi without an affinity? Could she train in taijutsu? Sakura really hopes -

"Hello," a soft voice interrupts her panic thoughts. "What can I help you with?"

Blinking, Sakura didn't realize she entered the office of "Kinato-san." Her gaze snaps to the -  _oh my gosh!_  - handsome man seated behind a white, scroll covered desk. He's all long dark green hair pulled back into a high ponytail, silver eyes, and kind smile. He's wearing a white lab coat too.

"Um, miss?"

"Oh," Sakura replies before mentally berating herself for not giving a proper answer. "My name is Haruno Sakura and I need help in obtaining my chakra affinity."

Kinato's smile widens. "Of course, of course! Please take a seat!"

Sakura tentatively sits in the chair in front of Kinato's desk and crosses one leg over the other, hands clenched in her lap and she waits patiently for the man to rummage around on his desk before producing a clipboard.

"Alright, where's my pen?" When he turns his head slightly, Sakura can see the missing pen inside the man's hair where his hair tie is.

"Um, Kinato-san?" Sakura calls politely. "Your pen is in your hair."

"Huh?" He reaches back and grabs it. "So it was. Thank you!" He shuffles in his seat before grinning. "So, let me take a guess. You touched the affinity determination paper and nothing happened?" His eyes sparkle when she nods. "That hasn't happened in years! Decades even!"

Sakura bites her lip. "Is there anything you can do to help me? My teammates and I are training for the chunin exams and, well, it would benefit me if I knew."

Kinato nods. "Agreed. Well, not having an affinity determined can mean a few things."

"So I've learned," Sakura mumbles before waving her hands in front of herself. "Sorry, sorry. That was rude." She only receives a laugh in return.

"I'm not easily offended, Sakura-san! On the bright side, we can try a few things out. The simplest form is to have your try out a more advanced affinity determination paper."

"There are different ones?" Sakura can't help but ask. "What makes them different?"

Kinato taps his pen against his clipboard for a moment, seemingly collecting the right words to explain, before replying: "The affinity determination paper your sensei - assuming your sensei provided it - calls forth chakra within the person who is touching it and the person touching it unconsciously pushes a small bit of chakra into the paper. It's the natural process. Sometimes, those with small chakra reserves or perfect chakra control unconsciously deny the paper the chakra it seeks. This hardly happens though."

"Oh," Sakura replies quietly.

"If that's the case, then you'll simply need to touch the advanced version. It will forcibly call on your chakra. The sensation, I'm told, feels like something really cold is shooting through your veins briefly. Hopefully, that does the trick. If not, we'll move to something else."

"Okay."

"Good." He smiles again while getting up. Sakura watches silently as he walks around his desk and over to a wooden cabinet. Kinato rummages around in the top drawer, letting out a "There you are!" when he finds the papers. Unlike the lightly tanned paper Kakashi showed up with, this paper is stark white and covered in plastic. After he removes the top bit of plastic, he pulls out a sheet. The paper immediately appears damp.

"I have a water affinity," he supplies by way of example. "Now you try."

For a moment, Sakura freezes.  _Oh please_ , she begs within her head.  _Please, please, please!_  With bated breath, Sakura reaches forward and pulls out a sheet. Nothing happens. Her shoulders slump.

"Fear not, Sakura-san. We won't be giving up." He takes her sheet, puts it back with the stack, and places the packet back in the cabinet and closes it. He walks back to his desk and sits down before proceeding to look through the top drawer of his desk. "Now where did I put them?" He looks up. "I need to clean my office," he sighs. A moment later, and he's placing five small different colored cubes on top of his desk.

Tilting her head, Sakura asks, "These can determine an affinity?"

Kinato nods. "This is the old fashioned way. They haven't been used in years, but I keep them around just in case. If you touch one and it reacts, you have an affinity for it. The colors are self-explanatory, I hope. They draw on your chakra as well, but you feel nothing."

"How can they do that?" Sakura inquiries. "What are the mechanics behind them?"

She receives a chuckle. "I know what they do, but not how they do it. The information has been lost over the centuries. These cubes have been around for a long time."

"Oh, okay." Sakura doesn't move.

They sit there in silence for a moment.

"I know this can be nerve-wracking, but you need to pick one up eventually."

Sakura sighs softly and reaches out for the pale blue cube, correctly assuming it to be the wind cube. Nothing happens. Frowning, she puts it back down.

"Keep trying," Kinato urges gently. "Four more."

Sakura picks up the dark blue cube next and jumps, eyes brimming with excitement. "It's damp!" She cries.

Kinato claps excitedly. "That's wonderful! Try another!"

Put the cube back down, Sakura tilts her head in confusion. "Why?"

"In some cases, a person can have more than one affinity."

Sakura smacks her forehead. "Duh! Sasuke-kun!"

"Um, who is Sasuke-kun?"

"He's one of my teammates," Sakura replies. "He has an affinity for fire and lightning."

"Lucky, lucky! That's a great combination. The ninjutsu attached to those affinities are far and powerful."

Sakura reaches forward, a playful thought crossing her mind, and picks up the red cube -

\- only to immediately drop it with a cry of pain. "It's burning!" Sakura cradles her hand to her chest. "Owie."

"That's both amazing and concerning, Sakura-san."

Tears stinging the corners of her eyes, Sakura manages, "How so?"

"Water and fire natural enemies. There are only a few cases across the great nations of someone having both without going out of their way to train in one area or the other. This is amazing. Try the other two."

Sakura shoots him a look. "Two should be enough, right? I don't have to try another."

"Well, no, you don't...but the curiosity is there, right? Besides...no harm, no foul?"

With her opposite hand, Sakura picks up the white cube. To her relief, nothing happens. She puts it down with a smile before gazing at the last one. It's a dark green cube. Sakura hesitates, just for a moment, and picks it up. Her frown has Kinato lean forward.

"It feels...really heavy and gritty."

Kinato is clapping his hands and bouncing in his seat. "Three affinities! Three affinities! This is amazing!"

Sakura places the cube back on the desk, pain in her other hand forgotten, and leans back. She's shocked, to say the least, and excited. This will open a lot of doors for her in terms of combat.

"Well, Sakura-san, you have a lot to work with. I'll be looking forward to all you achieve. Feel free to come back and visit." It's quick, but polite dismissal.

Sakura jumps up with a grin and bows. "Thank you so much, Kinato-san!"

He waves her off. "I hardly did anything. I'm glad things are looking up now."

"Have a good evening!" Sakura calls over her shoulder as she exits the room.

"And you as well!"

She walks by the front desk, but the woman behind it is different. Either way, Sakura offers her a smile and, with a skip in her step, walks out of the hospital. The sun is set completely as Sakura casually walks towards her apartment to change and go shopping -

"Sakura?"

She stops.

"Sasuke-kun?!"

Sasuke is standing off to the side, a bag of groceries in each hand, looking at her confused.

"What are you doing in the clan district?"

 _Shit, shit, shit!_  Sakura panics for a moment.  _Okay, okay. Keep it cool._

"I'm visiting a friend," she lies smoothly while making sure to maintain eye contact. "She invited me over for the night." Sakura entwines her hands behind her back and smiles. "I just left the hospital."

He tilts his head, eyes roaming over her before nodding. "You got the help you needed then," he states.

Sakura's smile blooms into a full-out grin. "Yup!" When he doesn't reply, her smile starts to fade. "Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke cocks an eyebrow. "And?"

Her grin returns with a vengeance. "I'm not telling you until I can tell Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. Sorry!" She's not sorry at all.

He huffs. "Whatever. Don't forget to meet at the bridge tomorrow at 3:50 AM." He rolls one shoulder. "Hope the idiot doesn't forget."

Sakura shakes her head. "Have more faith in Naruto, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke hums. "See you tomorrow morning," he replies instead as he starts walking away.

"Bye!" Sakura calls after him happily and carries on.

* * *

Entering her apartment, Sakura turns on the light and lets out a relieved sigh. Earlier in the day, she and Shikamaru managed to work through the majority of her boxes and get things set up. Still, though, the kitchen and living room are plain in terms of decor. Everything too sleek, too shiny. Her room is her favorite place in the apartment so far. Sakura walks in it and glances around her room with a satisfied grin. It's clean, organized, and entirely hers.

Sakura's second favorite place in her apartment is the bathroom attached to her room. It's slightly larger than the one at her pare - no, the Harunos - place. There's a shower-tub in one corner, a toilet in the other, and a divider between them. The mirror above the sink is large and the sink is very pretty. The walking space is nice too.

As she's going through her closet, a firm knock sounds from the front door. Sakura closes her eyes and concentrates. The chakra right outside her apartment is warm and bright and familiar. Abandoning her clothes for a moment, she walks out of her room and to the front door.

"You forgot," is the first thing said when she opens the door. Shikamaru is standing before her in a slouch, hands stuffed firmly in his pockets, and face relaxed.

Sakura's eyes widen. "Oh shit. What time is it?"

"It's going on eight o'clock."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Today's training practice was tense and emotional and then I had to go to the hospital and I need to go shopping and - "

" - Are you hurt?" Shikamaru interrupts.

Sakura steps back and allows him inside before answering. "Kakashi-sensei brought out the chakra affinity determination papers today and when I touched one, nothing happened. He told me about a specialist at the hospital so I went right after training."

"And did the specialist help you?"

She bounces back and forth on her feet and nods. "Yup!"

"And?" He urges.

Sakura shakes her head and then waggles her finger in his face. "Come now, Shikamaru. We're both taking the chunin exams next month which means there's a chance we'll be facing each other. I can't give you the advantage."

His mouth twitched at the corner; an almost smile. "Alright then. Anyway, when will you be ready to go?"

"I feel really bad," Sakura mumbles. "And I want to shower. I haven't even gone over the lease yet."

 _Shopping can wait until tomorrow_ , Sakura thinks.  _I'll skip lunch or dinner and pick up a few things._

Shikamaru shrugs before walking over to the couch. "I'll wait."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Whatever. I'll be quick."

She beats her previous record of five minutes in the shower. She's quite proud. Getting dress is quick with her putting on white khakis and a pale green t-shirt. She leaves her hair down to air dry and grabs both her weapon pouches and the lease she left on her bed from this morning. Sakura slips on her sandals before walking out of her room.

"I'm ready," she calls out. "And hungry."

"Took you long enough," Shikamaru replies. "I was slowly dying of starvation."

"Sounds like something Naruto would say." Sakura fights the laughter bubbling in her throat at the face Shikamaru makes.

"Troublesome."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Let's go. I don't want to keep your mom waiting any longer than I already have."

"Stop worrying about that. She won't be mad." He opens the front door to let her to walk out first and waits for her to lock it. They walk together in silence for a moment or two before Sakura decides to break it.

"What did your mom make tonight?" She asks as she flips through the lease. The information is simple enough seeing as Shikaku went over it with her beforehand. The small comments he made were reminders about her situation, covered fees, and future changes that may take place if necessary.

"Baked tonkatsu, brown rice, miso soup, and lemon sweet tea. Forewarning, the tea is more sour than sweet."

"Sounds delicious," Sakura replies. "I'm really looking forward to it."

"My mother has been looking forward to speaking to you again."

"Girl talk?" Sakura asks with a smile.

"Pretty sure that's just her excuse to check on you after everything yesterday."

Sakura's smile fades as she flips the pages of the lease over so the front page is showing and clutches it close to her chest with both hands.

"Your mother is kind and generous. So if your father. So are you. I am truly grateful."

"Don't worry about it."

Sakura hums softly. "If you say so."

* * *

"Welcome, Sakura-chan!" Yoshino greets with a wide smile. "I hope you're hungry."

"Hello, Yoshino-sama. Thank you for having me. I'm starved."

Yoshino's eyes sparkle with glee. "I'm glad. There's a lot." She ushers Sakura into the dining room the moment she slips off her sandals. "I was beginning to worry."

"Training ran late today," Sakura replies as she takes a seat. "And then I had to run to the hospital to see a chakra specialist."

"Why, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Kakashi-sensei had us test our chakra affinity today and when I touched the paper, nothing happened. So after our training session, I went to the hospital to see the specialist - suggested by Kakashi-sensei - who had me test with a stronger paper...only for nothing to happen. There was another method involving chakra cubes."

"Was it all sorted out?" She asks.

Sakura nods. "It all worked out."

"So what are they?" Yoshino asks, seemly innocent.

"Nice try, Yoshino-sama. I may be facing your son next month. I won't be telling you or him or your husband."

"Smart decision."

"Shikaku-sama!" Sakura starts getting up only for the man to shake his head.

"Don't get up on my account. We're glad you could make it."

"Thank you for having me," Sakura replies while fiddling with the stapled corner of the lease. "I need a pen to sign this."

Shikaku produces one from his front vest pocket. Sakura accepts it with a small "thank you" before signing her name to the bottom of the page. Just  _Sakura_. No last name. She's a No-Name now.

"Here you are," she says while sliding the lease and pen across the table where the man is seated.

"Okay, that takes care of that."

"Here's dinner!" Yoshino announces while bringing a large tray into the dining room. "There's lots of it so eat up!"

"Thank you," Sakura says with glee. "I'll have to take my time to enjoy this. The next two weeks are going to be tough."

"So that lazy sensei has a training schedule for you."

"Yup. For the next two weeks, between 4 AM and 10 PM, my team and I will undergo a difficult training schedule."

"I am so glad I'm not on your team," Shikamaru states while filling his bowl with brown rice. "Imagine having to wake up before 7 AM on a week day." He shakes his head.

Sakura laughs quietly while piling food onto her plate. "It will be tedious at first, but worth it in the end." Sakura points her chopsticks at Shikamaru. "Don't fall behind."

Shikamaru snorts. "Whatever."

Sakura only rolls her eyes in response.

Dinner is mostly a quiet affair. Sakura and Shikamaru spend most of it recalling their days in the Academy. Most of that involves Sakura blushing over her fangirling of Sasuke and rivalry with Ino. They discuss their exams as well. And Naruto's pranks. Sakura mentions her struggles regarding ninjutsu and taijutsu. She accepts Shikamaru's advice, though keeping in mind that Shikamaru's stamina is almost as bad as hers.

"Do you have time for dessert?" Yoshino asks. "I baked a strawberry cake."

"I'd love a slice, Yoshino-sama."

She turns to her husband and son. "I really like her."

"You're just upset Ino never takes you up on your baking," Shikamaru mumbles. His head is propped up identically like his father's.

"She used to love eating them," Yoshino replies sadly. "I don't know what changed her mind."

Sakura remains silent during the conversation. She and Ino haven't had a proper talk in so long, she can hardly remember what they were like before they let their crushes on Sasuke come between them. Truth be told, Sakura misses her once best friend a lot. She mentally berates herself for allowing them to fall apart over a boy.

"I miss Ino," Sakura sighs quietly.

"She misses you, too," Shikamaru replies.

Sakura snaps her attention towards him. "Really?"

"When we heard about your mission to Wave, despite being classified as an escort mission at the time, she was worried. You were out of the Fire Country for over a month. She stopped talking about Sasuke this and Sasuke that and started asking Asuma-sensei about you. Asking if Kakashi-sensei was keeping in contact with him."

Sakura feels affection swell up in her chest. Ino still cares...

"I should stop by the flower shop sometime," Sakura says with a laugh. "To put flowers in my living room."

"She'd probably like that."

"Thanks for letting me know." Shikamaru hums. "And thank you for the cake, Yoshino-sama."

"Eat up, eat up!"

She really enjoyed her evening at Shikamaru's place.

* * *

Sakura ultimately decides to hate herself for the next two weeks. As in really -  _really_  - hate herself. For one, she's barely on her eighth lap and she feels like dying (not even caring that she's being dramatic) and her lack of sleep makes her cranky. Second, she snapped at Naruto twice (and apologized twice) and at Sasuke (she offered a half-hearted apology because his comment made her snap at him in the first place). Third, she forgot to brush her and pull it back and now it's flapping all over the place.

 _Grow out your hair, Sakura. It will be pretty, Sakura. Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair, Sakura. Well, this is just pissing me off. No boy is worth this trouble!_  Sakura mentally screams at herself.

She has half a mind to tie it up with some bandages or -

"Why not just put it in a bun and use a needle to hold it?"

Sakura stops running, chest heaving, and blinks tiredly at Naruto's concerned face. "W-What?"

"I saw it in a magazine once," Naruto replies sheepishly. "Survival tips for traveling kunoichi or something. There were these pictures of different ways a girl would have her hair up and one of them was using senbon needles to secure the bun."

She stares at him. "Naruto..." she starts. "That is a  _wonderful_ idea!" She practically rips out her headband and thrusts it at him. "Hold this for a moment, please." Naruto takes in gingerly and watches, with odd fascination, as Sakura gathers her long hair up non-too-nicely and twists it into a bun. She holds it with one hand and pulls out two needles with the other and makes quick work of secure her hair tightly.

"You're a genius, Naruto."

He blushes at the comment and scratches the back of his head. "A-Ah, no problem!"

Mood significantly improved, Sakura starts a light run and slowly picks up speed until she's at a good pace.

* * *

"We h-have to do p-push-ups and sit-ups n-next," Sakura manages before taking a deep breath and falling gracelessly to her bottom.

"How many?" Naruto asks, face beat red with sweat sliding down his neck.

"300 push-ups," Sasuke replies. "And 250 sit-ups."

Sakura groans. Naruto echoes her groan. Sasuke sighs.

"Let's just get this over with," he says. "The sooner it's done, the sooner we can move on."

"R-Right." Sakura rolls over to her stomach. "My upper body strength is a joke so don't laugh or you'll regret it."

"Do your best, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheers.

Sasuke nods.

"Alright, let's do this!" Naruto lines up next to her and Sasuke takes her other side. "One, two, three, four, ..."

It's a struggle to make it to 300. Such a struggle that Sakura collapses twice and has to shakily get back up. Both Naruto and Sasuke stop each time so she can continue with them. Naruto's encouraging words and Sasuke's silent support aid her in completing the rest of the push-ups.

"Sasuke can go first for the sit-ups," Sakura states when she's done. "Then Naruto and then me."

Sasuke cocks an eyebrow at her which only causes Sakura to smile kindly at him. "I told you b-both that my stamina is bad yesterday. I wasn't joking."

"No worries, Sakura-chan!" Naruto holds up his thumb and offers her a grin. "Let's get to it, Sasuke."

"Whatever." Sasuke rolls on to his back. "Put pressure on my ankles, not my feet."

"Okay."

"Sakura, count."

"Alrighty. Are you ready?" At his nod, she begins.

Sasuke gets his set done in all of five minutes. Sakura bites her lower lip to keep herself from making a comment out of envy. He's always been an athletic sort. Naruto is just as quick and he counts out loud himself. Sakura dreads her turn but knows she has to get it done in order to move on to the next task.

"Let me know when you're ready."

Her hair bun makes it slightly uncomfortable to rest her head on the ground but she ignores it. At her nod, Sasuke grips her ankles tightly and starts counting out loud. At 200, her stomach cramps. She grunts but otherwise doesn't voice her discomfort. The moment she reaches 250, Sasuke lets go of her ankles and she turns over to lay on her stomach.

"Weight lifting is next," Sasuke states as he gets to his feet. "And we have nine minutes to spare."

"We'll make quite the picture at the gym."

Naruto snorts. "Who cares? I'm ready."

"How do you have so much energy this morning, Naruto?"

"Ramen." The seriousness in his voice has Sakura and Sasuke share a look before looking back at him, blinking twice.

"Ramen? Really?" Sakura asks slowly.

"Don't knock the ramen, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura raises her hands in alarm. "Not knocking, I swear."

"What did you expect?" Sasuke chimes in. "The idiot eats, sleeps, and breaths ramen."

"Shut up, asshole! Ramen is part of a healthy diet!"

Sakura seriously doubts that but if it works for Naruto then who is she to judge?

"Let's head to the gym. We're supposed to start weight lifting right now."

"Lead the way, Sakura-chan!"

* * *

It's safe to say that the three of them had a better time at the gym for a few reasons:

1) Sasuke bench-pressed twice the amount of weight as the buffest guy there.

2) Naruto damn near broke the treadmill with how fast he was going.

3) Sakura had a blast on the horizontal seated leg press, grinning gleefully at the poorly covered envious looks.

"What's next?" Naruto asks with a grin.

Sakura finds herself returning it. What can she say? Naruto's happy-go-lucky attitude can be addictive. Even Sasuke cracks a small grin. Sakura stretches her arms over her head, groaning in satisfaction when her back cracks.

"Meditation or jogging in Ground 3."

"Meditation is boring," Naruto replies immediately.

Sasuke nods. "Jogging then." They both look at Sakura expectedly.

"Yeah, sounds good." Truth be told, her legs hurt a lot and she'd rather stretch out on the ground and not move for the entire 45 minutes.

"Race you!" Naruto suddenly yells and runs away. Sasuke takes off after him without a second thought. Sakura stares after both of them with wide eyes.

"Damn it!"

* * *

Sakura smiles sadistically when Naruto and Sasuke collapse in a heap on the ground, breathing heavily with red and sweaty faces. She made it to Ground 3 just in time for Naruto to challenge Sasuke. The first to finish their laps gets to choose where they eat together for lunch. Unfortunately, they tied. Sakura continues to smile as she passes them - still arguing over who won - in a light jog. Her legs are screaming at her but she's determined to finish her laps in time. She's on lap 12.

"Fine!" She hears Naruto yell. "We'll just ask Sakura-chan!" Sakura keeps jogging, not slowing down at all. "Sakura-chan! Who won?!"

"It was a tie," she hollers back. "But who cares where we eat as long as we eat!"

She passes them again seven minutes later. Naruto is lying on his back on the ground, eyes closed, face relaxed. Sasuke is taking the time to meditate judging by his sitting position and where his hands are placed on his knees.

"How much more do you have to do?" Sasuke calls out.

"Two!" Sakura replies. She sees Sasuke nod out of the corner of her eye.

"Go, Sakura-chan! Go!" Naruto cheers.

Sakura smiles to herself. She exhausted, sweaty, a little dirty, but glad. For the first day, it hasn't been  _too_  bad. Of course, that doesn't account for how she'll feel tomorrow.

"You'll just have to push through," Sakura tells herself. "You need to be ready when Naruto and Sasuke-kun are ready." 14 minutes later, Sakura falls on her butt thoroughly tired and very, very hungry. She's just a couple of meters away from the boys.

"Alright," she calls out. "Where are we eating?"

"We've decided that it's only fair for you to pick," Sasuke answers.

Sakura blinks. "Um, okay. Just give me a second." She doesn't want Ramen. And while she is actually experiencing a sweet tooth, she doubts Naruto or Sasuke would be on board to go to the Dango Shop. "How about Yakiniku Q? My treat?"

"What's served there?" Naruto asks from his position on the ground. He has yet to sit up.

"It's a barbeque place," Sasuke replies before Sakura can. "You grill your own meat and whatnot."

"Hm, it's not ramen but it will do."

Sakura rolls her eyes at his proclamation. "I'm glad that works out for you, Naruto," she deadpans. She tries to get up, but a sharp pain wraps around her left shin. A cramp. "Shit."

"What's wrong?"

Sakura jumps. She looks up to see Sasuke standing next to her. "My leg is cramping."

"Where?" He asks.

Sakura hesitates for a moment before pointing to the area right below her knee. Her eyes widen when Sasuke kneels next to her and, after looking at her for a moment, places his hands on her leg and begins kneeing the muscles. It hurt's, briefly, but Sakura soon relaxes.

"We've barely drank water all day," Sasuke states quietly. "Naruto and I are lucky we didn't start cramping too. You need to drink at least three glasses of water before we take our second round of training after lunch."

"Weapons training," Sakura replies equally as quiet. "I'll do better today. I promise."

He looks at her, eyes scanning her face, before nodding. He stands up and calls over to Naruto. "Let's get going, idiot. Sakura and I are hungry and we won't wait for you."

Naruto's eats snap open and he sits up immediately. "No way! I won't let you go on a lunch date with Sakura-chan."

Sakura and Sasuke blush simultaneously. "Che, idiot." Regardless, Sasuke holds out a hand for Sakura to grab. She takes it and he gently, but surely, pulls her to her feet.

"Thank you," she whispers. Sasuke hums before taking a few steps away from her. Naruto appears next to her. "Let's get going."

"Still your treat, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asks as they start walking together towards the aforementioned restaurant.

Sakura bumps her shoulder against his. "I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't mean it."

He scratches his cheek sheepishly. "Alrighty."

The walk to the restaurant is peaceful, each lost in their own thoughts. Sakura thinks about how training after lunch will go. Yesterday's weapons exercise was...emotional, to say the least. If she can only perform under anger and disappoint, then it's not okay. Her movements should be second nature. Her focus should be perfect.

"I'm so hungry," Naruto whines. "How much longer till we get there?"

"A couple of minutes," Sakura answers.

* * *

Lunch is...fun.

They arrive, sweaty and tired, to a relatively empty Yakiniku Q. "Relative" being the key word seeing as Team Ten is there as well. Ino is in a deep, heated argument with Shikamaru. Sakura hasn't seen the boy that annoyed since the day Kiba accidentally dumped his rice on him during their Academy days. Choji is happily grilling his meat with an air of tranquility. Asuma is chilling with a cup of sake, unlit cigarette hanging limply between his fingers.

Sakura's gaze falls back to Shikamaru in time for him to look away from Ino and their eyes to meet. He looks relieved to see her. Sakura feels her face heating up.

"Yo," he calls out.

"Hello!" Sakura waves back. She acknowledges all of Team Ten. "Hope you guys are well."

"Forehead!" Ino replies happily, much to Sakura's shock. "Nice to see you alive and well." She turns her gaze to Sasuke and Naruto. "Hello, Sasuke-kun! Hey, Naruto!"

Sakura snorts unladylike. "Whatever, Pig. I'm not down for the count yet."

Ino rolls her eyes. "You better not be. Come sit, come sit!"

Naruto races over to them and sits in front of Choji. "What kind of meat is that?"

Sakura smiles when Choji and Naruto easily fall into a conversation about the meat, Choji even letting Naruto take a hold of the pliers to flip the meat. She takes a seat in front of Shikamaru, Sasuke next to her in front of Ino, and waits patiently for the server to come over and take their orders.

"Ice water," Sakura tells the server. "Please fill the cup three quarters full with ice." Sasuke asks for the same thing and Naruto asks for sweet tea. They order their own tray of assorted meats to grill.

"How's training going for you guys?" She starts a light conversation.

" _Boring!_ " Ino replies. "We're getting up super early in the morning now!" Sakura sees Asuma roll his eyes out of the corner of her eye and fights back the giggle building up in her throat.

"Try three in the morning and then come back to complain," Sakura deadpans. And it's true, she thinks. Team Seven has to meet at four in the morning, meaning that they have to get up and around, eat, shower, and whatnot before heading out.

It's comical how wide Ino's eyes get. "What the heck is your sensei thinking?"

Sakura looks at Asuma, whos just grinning towards her, and raises an eyebrow.

"I saw the schedule Kakashi set up for you kids," he chuckles. "Even I'm not that cruel."

"What do you do?" Choji asks while flipping the beef on the grill.

"Lots of exercises!" Naruto replies with a little bounce follows. "Running, muscle building, and we still have so much to do after lunch!"

"Naruto's right," Sakura states. "We won't be done until 10 tonight." She looks away, giggling into her hand when Ino's eyes nearly pop out of his head.

"No way."

Sakura nods. "Completely honest. Ask Sasuke."

Sasuke copies Sakura's nod. "4 AM to 10 PM. Everyday. For the next two weeks."

"How are you not exhausted?!" Ino asks, very much alarmed.

"Who says we're not?" Sakura answers. "Speaking for myself, I only wanted to die once during the morning laps. Weight training - or weight lifting, whatever - is much more fun."

"Maybe I should add that for you three," Asuma muses. "What do you think?"

"No thank you," Team Ten replies in unison, each sending pleading looks towards their sensei.

"Don't make us suffer more than we normally do," Shikamaru throws in.

Sakura and Asuma share a bemused look. When Team Seven's food arrives, they grill quickly and efficiently before digging in. Naruto with much more enthusiasm than his teammates; eating as though his life depends on it. Sasuke and Sakura are more aware of their surroundings thus eating politely. Sakura continues with the light conversation, alternating between her separate conversations with Shikamaru and Ino and occasionally drawing in Asuma and Choji.

"What do you have after this?" Ino asks while taking a sip of her drink.

Sakura sends a frown Sasuke's way. "Weapon's training, right?"

Sasuke nods and starts grilling the last of their meat.

"Why weapon's training?" Shikamaru inquiries. "We learned that in the Academy."

"Always room for improvement."

"Agreed," Asuma throws in. "Besides, they could be training with weapons outside of the Academy's approved selection."

"That'd be fun, but we honestly don't know. Kakashi-sensei never specified."

"Here's to hoping you don't drop dead after your first day," Shikamaru lifts his cup in a toast.

"Gee, thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this update is satisfactory. If you have the time, please review.  
> P.S. What's your favorite Sakura-centric fanfic here or on FF.Net?


	5. Chapter Four - Part Two

**Chapter Four - Part Two**

_One strike!_

_Two strikes!_

_Three strikes - Oh, wait!_

"Hello, my cute little students~"

"Sensei!" Naruto yells while pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're late!"

"You shouldn't yell at him, dobe. For Kakashi-sensei, this is an improvement."

Sakura giggles behind her hand at the less-than pleased look on Kakashi's face. Serves him right for showing up late, regardless if he is a little earlier today as opposed to other days. "Yes, Naruto. He's only late by an hour~"

Naruto huffs before scowling. "So, when do we start? Are we doing target practice today?"

"Hmm, not what I was going for but we can do that instead. If you want."

"What?!" Naruto's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. "No, no! What were you gonna' have us do?"

Kakashi snaps his book closed. "We're going to the weapon shop. The one located in the clan district."

"To setup new pouches?"

"Hmm, yes in regards to one of you," Kakashi nods towards Naruto. "But also to see what else suits you three."

Sakura and Sasuke share a look of confusion. "Like, wielding a battle ax or sword?" Sakura asks.

"Correct."

"Oh," she replies. "Sounds like a good idea, sensei."

"I'm glad at least one of my adorable students appreciates the idea - "

"I want a sword!" Naruto cheers. "Or a battle ax! I would look badass with a battle ax! Oh, what if I get a staff?!" He attaches himself to Kakashi's arm, bouncing with glee. "Let's go, sensei! Let's go!"

Kakashi chuckles and pats Naruto's head. "Alright, alright. Let's go and let's be relatively quick. We'll be wasting daylight."

The three of them fall into step behind Kakashi as he leaps away to the weapon shop. Sakura bites her lip in hopes that no one will recognize her enough to start a conversation. Lucky, she had only run into Sasuke last night. She reaches up to touch her hair and sighs. Well, she can hope.

"What do you think you'll pick up, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura leans just a litter closer to Sasuke to make sure he can hear while Naruto babbles on and on about how "badass" he'll look showing up to the chunin exams with a "super cool weapon."

When he doesn't reply immediately, Sakura fears she may have overstepped her boundaries in some way - "Tanto, possibly. A sword, maybe."

"You'd look really cool with a sword. Naruto would look better with a staff - or maybe a naginata - than a sword."

Sasuke hums. "And you?"

"Me?" Sakura taps her chin as they hit the roof and drop down after Kakashi, walking behind him. "I don't really know. Maybe a kusarigama or octagon sai? Both seem fun to master." She sees Sasuke nod out of the corner of her eye.

Is it approval? Is he doing it so she stops speaking? Sakura doesn't know and remains silent as they enter the shop. "Sasuke, Sakura, go look around. I'm going to make sure Naruto finds the right sized kunai and a few other items."

"Yes, sensei," they both reply.

As Sasuke walks towards the swords displayed on the wall in the back and Kakashi drags a pouting Naruto to the front counter, Sakura starts aimlessly walking up and down the isles with no particular item in mind. Truthfully, she needs to practice more with her standard weapons before taking on something bigger.

But, as she recalls Naruto's cheerful yell - "Maybe I won't be so bad," she whispers to herself as she leans down to pick up a large shuriken, about the size of a melon, and turn it over in her hands very carefully. "A couple of these could do some mega damage."

"Agreed. If you throw one hard enough, it can slice through the unguarded body like a knife through butter."

Sakura mentally applauds herself for not jumping. She turns around - only to look up - at the face of the person who spoke. It's a boy. A rather good looking one -  _but not as good looking as Sasuke_  - who gazes down at her with a charming smile. There's something familiar about him too. She takes in the long white blond hair and startling sky blue eyes. He closely resembles a Yamanaka.

"Um, do you working here?" Sakura asks.

The boy blinks and then throws his head back in a laugh - a pleasant laugh - before uprighting himself and nodding. "Sorry, I have a habit of doing that. The name's Kenji. I work part-time. You were looking unsure so I thought I'd come over to see if you need any help?"

"Oh, well, I've never been in this store and I'm not sure what I want, what I should be looking for..."

"May I see your hand?"

Confused, Sakura holds out her free hand. Kenji runs his fingers over the back of it, over her palm, and trails each finger to the tip. "You have a couple of old calluses and a few new ones. Judging by your appearance, you recently came from training. Your hands a small, but still very much capable. Grip my hand." She does. "Secure grip. Holds fast. Many of the blades here would suit you. Squeeze your hand into a fist. Hmm, good form. You could try punching your way out of situations," he ends with a grin.

She finds herself returning his grin. "I'm open to possibilities."

"Good. Now, back to the matter at hand. This is a weapon shop so you're here for weapons. Judging by your two pouches, you have a good selection. What's your preferred choice in battle?"

Sakura unconsciously grips the outer part of her hip pouch. "I don't think I have a preferred choice, to be honest."

"What do you go for first?"

"Kunai," she answers immediately.

"How many do you handle at once?"

"Depends. Though, usually a standard one in each hand. I have smaller ones, but..." Sakura trails off with a half-hearted shrug.

"The beauty of kunai is that they're good for practically any situation. Many shinobi have survived a great deal in the wild with a single kunai." Sakura nods. She knows this. "However, I'm thinkin' you could do well with many sorts of weapons. You have the hands for most of them."

"Oh, like what?"

"Tanto, definitely. Combat fan could be cool. We have them in steel and cherry wood. Oh, you'd look cool with a naginata." Sakura allows herself to be drawn over to the glass case holding various types of naginata. Some very long, other's relatively short. Some silver, some black. Some blank, others with dragons or waves carved into the blade at the end.

"What about that one?" Sakura points to the one at the back of the case. The staff portion of it reaches her collarbone and is white with a small, black crescent moon at the bottom and the blade at the end curves more. It seems light enough for her to carry around, but she knows there's a way to store weapons in a scroll. At some point in the future, she'll need to discuss that with Kakashi.

"Um, I wouldn't recommend that one."

"Why?"

Kenji scratches his cheek. "It has a reputation for being  _cursed_. Anyone who used it in the past ends up dead or...something." He shrugs. "It's been here a long time. I just know that it causes a lot of people to feel unease."

"Then why keep it?" Sakura turns back to gaze at it. It seems simple. Inviting, even.

"I think my boss is waiting for the next unlucky soul to buy it or something."

Sakura taps the case lightly. "Looks like that unlucky soul is here. I want it."

"Are you sure? There's plenty - "

"Sakura-chan!" Neither jump, but both look at Naruto with varying degrees of annoyance. Naruto stops in front of them and glares up at Kenji with distrust. "Who are you?!"

"Um, it's Kenji. Can I help you?"

Naruto huffs. "I'm waiting on  _my_  teammate to finish so  _we_  can train with  _our_  other teammate and sensei."

Sakura pinches the bridge of her nose while shaking her head. "Naruto, please. Don't be rude."

Still glaring at Kenji, Naruto grabs Sakura's wrist and moves to stand in front of her. "Have you picked something out?"

"Well, I was in the middle of picking out one."

"Oh, which one?"

Sighing, Sakura shakes her hand loose and turns to Kenji, mouth twisted into a small apologetic smile. "The one I pointed out, please. Can you bring it to the front?

"Uh, sure thing. Just give me a minute..."

* * *

Sakura snaps at Naruto the moment they're out of the shop. "You're ridiculous, Naruto! He was just helping me!"

"Nu-uh!" Naruto replies quickly. "I saw how he was lookin' at ya! Like your ramen on a bad day!" He waves his free arm as the other clutches his new weapons tightly.

"What's the dobe going on about?" Sasuke asks while flickering a strain of hair out of his face.

"Nothing, h - "

Naruto steps forward. "That guy was  _flirting_  with Sakura-chan, Sasuke! He was gettin' all handsy with her and everything!"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura uses the end of her naginata to shove Naruto out of the way, ignoring the "oof" he makes. "I was getting some  _help_  and Naruto interpreted the situation in the  _wrong_  way." She turns to Sasuke. "Ignore him, Sasuke-kun."

"He was makin' googly-eyes at you!"

Before she can reply, Kakashi steps out and clears his throat. "Now that you've all been taken care of, let's get a move on. You're going to have a very busy rest of the day."

"Don't forget dinner, sensei."

But Kakashi only chuckles. "I haven't forgotten, Naruto. Let's head to Ground 3." With that, he jumps up to the roof and takes off. The rest of them fall into formation after him. No one speaks on the way there.

* * *

Sakura finds that she enjoys using the naginata. It's perfect for long-distance fighting and up close and personal. Frankly, she enjoys watching Sasuke use his sword against Kakashi and loves the thrill she gets when Naruto uses his kusarigama against her. This singular experience becomes one of her favorite training sessions (no matter how few there have actually been given their mission to Wave).

When they arrived, they went through weapon training with more ease than the day before. Sakura is much better when she can picture the targets as those who've let her down. After that, he went over the basic function of each new weapon; demonstrating a couple of ways each can be used in combat or self-training. Only after he was done did he split them into groups for sparring. No serious injuries allowed. Try not to kill each other. They're still a team. The works.

"Heh, you're r-really good with that thing, eh, Sakura-chan?"

She also finds herself gleeful for being able to cause Naruto to break into a sweat. And she  _is_  surprised to be able to adapt so well with her naginata.

"T-Tired already, Naruto?"

To be fair, she started sweating five minutes into their spar.

"No way!"

Before they can engage again, Kakashi's voice breaks out over the clearing. "Alright, stop. We're going to switch it up a bit. Sakura, you're going against Sasuke. Naruto, you're with me."

Naruto pumps his fist into the air. "Hell yeah! I'm gonna' kick Kakashi-sensei's ass!"

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura makes a comment when they stand before each other, separated by a few feet. From this location, Sakura can see the sweat trailing down the side of Sasuke's face. There's a small cut over his left eyebrow and his shirt is clinging to his body. His sword, though, is simplistic yet beautiful. It's completely black save for the golden trim at the bottom of the hilt.

"You move well while using that," Sasuke compliments. For Sasuke, that's rare. "But how well can you use it against me?"

Sakura drops into a traditional fighting stance, a face-splitting grin directed at him. "We're about to find out. Promise not to hold back?"

He follows her lead and drops to a more closed stance and nods.

Silence and then - "Begin."

They clash in such a powerful blow - seemingly shocking themselves - that Sakura can barely make out Naruto yelling, "Holy shit!" before bringing her weapon up to block a quick swing that follows.

"Don't pay attention to the idiot," she hears Sasuke whisper in her ear. Sakura suppresses a shiver before nodding. In real combat, she would have been done in already for allowing herself to be distracted. "You asked me to not hold back."

He is  _fast_.

Sakura quickly realizes that her offense lacks. Naruto  _needed_  time to swing his kusarigama at her. Sasuke, on the other hand, didn't need time to attack. For most of their spar, she is on defense. She has no choice. Sasuke appears this way and that, above and below, and his attacks are almost...brutal, even for them being teammates.

_You asked him not to hold back..._

"You can do better than this, Sakura." And that makes her angry. She  _knows_  she's not super fast. Hell, she mentioned it twice now.

"I'm trying," she manages through clenched teeth.

"Try harder."

"Right, because I have the abilities of a prodigy," she snaps in return before jumping away to create some distance at least, grudgingly thankful that Sasuke doesn't chase after her.

Sasuke appears irritated. "You're far more capable than you think. Stop comparing yourself to Naruto and I and just move."

Sakura loses her defensive stance and just stands there. "Right, sound advice." She shakes her head as if not comprehending what he said. " _Just move_." And then Sasuke disappears. That puts Sakura on alert because Sasuke  _isn't_  stopping.

_Right, I didn't forfeit -_

A loud 'clang' sounds against her ear. Sakura freezes. Everything goes silent aside from a sharp intake from behind her. Slowly, very slowly, Sakura turns around and just stares, wide eyed, at Sasuke  _and_  Kakashi. Kakashi has a kunai up, blocking an attack that would have surely hit Sakura because she let her guard down. And she's sure the shocked look on Sasuke's face mirrors her own.

"Oi! What the hell were you trying to do, bastard?!"

Naruto's yell cuts through the air and everything picks back up. Sasuke drops his sword as if burned and backs away immediately, eyes still wide. Kakashi relaxes his stance and turns to Sakura. "Are you alright?" At Sakura's single nod, he calls out to Naruto, "Naruto, you and Sakura can finish sparring. I'm going to speak to Sasuke for a moment."

"I thought she would block it," Sakura faintly hears as Kakashi picks up Sasuke's sword, hands it to him, and nods towards a tree on the other side of the clearing.

"Sakura-chan!" She turns around just in time for Naruto to grab her by her arms and give her a little shake. "Are you okay?!"

"Um, yes. I'm fine, Naruto. I just wasn't paying attention." She does, however, feel a little better when Naruto - although reluctantly - backs off.

"If you're sure..." he replies hesitantly.

Sakura readjusts her grip on her naginata and nods. "So, let's get to it?"

"Alright," there's still some hesitancy, but she's relieved when Naruto turns around to make some distance between them. Sakura briefly glances over to where Sasuke and Kakashi is and takes in the blank-faced Sasuke and the semi side-profile of Kakashi.

"I'm ready!" Naruto calls.

With a shake of her head, Sakura turns away to face him. "I'm going to kick your butt, Naruto."

* * *

When Kakashi dismisses them for dinner (with a quick word of advice to take their new weapons home), Sakura quickly declines Naruto's invite to go eat ramen - "Not tonight, Naruto. Tomorrow, I promise!" - and sends a little wave over her shoulder at Sasuke and Kakashi. "I'll be back in time for training, I promise!"

Sakura mentally goes over her checklist. Curtains for all the rooms in her apartment, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, an arsenal of medical supplies, food, and so on and so forth. Dropping by her apartment to drop off her naginata, Sakura grabs her money clip and slips it into her hip pouch. A quick glance in the mirror has her taking out the senben needles to let it fall before gathering it up into a ponytail.

She takes a brief moment to wash her face to rid it of the dirt and scratches as well.

Nodding to herself, Sakura figures she has enough time to buy curtains at least and stop over at the dango shop. Sakura has a bit of a sweet tooth and it's one of her favorite treats. Not a "proper dinner" but she'd be fine until she made it home. Besides, she's not one to eat a lot. Shikamaru's mom recognized that the second time Sakura came over for dinner.

"Curtains, curtains," Sakura mutters to herself as she steps outside. "Where to get curtains~?"

"You could try Old Techa's shop by the green bridge. She's got some variety," a passing chunin replies.

_Oh, right. I have neighbors._

"Thank you!" She calls after the chunin. "I appreciate it."

"No problem, miss."

* * *

"Where is Sakura-chan?!"

Sakura stays hidden among the trees observing her teammates, feeling oddly proud that she can mask her chakra well enough. Naruto is pacing back and forth while Sasuke is leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. There's an undeniable tension in the air.

"How am I supposed to know, idiot? She'll get here when she get's here."

Naruto mumbles something Sakura can't quite hear, but whatever it is...the aura around Sasuke darkened.

"I didn't mean too," Sasuke snaps. "I already said I thought she would block it."

She sighs quietly to herself. She's not surprised. This is Naruto and Sasuke after all. Yes, the idea of Sasuke attacking her from behind when she's unaware is...scary. But she also knows that it was a spar and she didn't forfeit. It was a  _spar_. Sasuke  _isn't_  at fault. She let her guard down because she was frustrated. She'd have to explain that to Naruto when she gets the chance - "Are you okay?"

Sakura mentally applauds herself for not jumping at the sound of Kakashi's voice a few inches away from her ear.

"I'm fine, but Sasuke on the other hand..." She sighs and shakes her head. "It was an accident, sensei. It's my fault. I'm the one who stopped in the middle of the spar."

"Yet Sasuke still took the calculated risk of attacking you while your guard was down. Did you intend to forfeit?"

"No, but I did want to get it through Sasuke's head that I'm not him or Naruto. He tells me to just 'move' and I understand what he means by that, but..." Sakura struggles to finish her sentence. "It's really hard to not compare yourself to your teammates when all you got going for yourself is your intelligence."

"Bookworms often survive the most tedious of battles," Kakashi replies. "Which brings me to my next question; did you go see the chakra specialist I mentioned yesterday?"

"Yes, sensei."

"What were your results?"

"Earth and water..." Sakura answers slowly.

"Hmm, lucky."

"...and fire."

That has Kakashi looking directly at her, visible eyebrow raised. "Three affinities?"

"Yes, sensei."

Kakashi snaps his book closed. "My, my, Sakura-chan. You're just full of surprises these days." She honestly can't tell if he's being genuine or not. "Lucky for you, and the boys, I'm pretty well-rounded in all areas despite having an affinity with lightning."

"Sasuke-kun has fire and lightning and Naruto has wind and I have fire, earth, and water." She giggles softly. "You really have your work cut out for you, sensei."

"I'm sure all sensei feel that way, Sakura-chan."

Sakura looks down just in time to see Sasuke get in Naruto's face. "Maybe we should get down there? You know, before they start beating each other up or something."

"Hmm, that's a good idea."

Before she can jump down to greet her teammates, Kakashi places a hand on her shoulder. "Let's greet them my way, Sakura-chan." She snorts but doesn't reply. Five seconds - and a "Holy shit!" from Naruto later - later, Sakura and Kakashi stand before the boys in a swirl of white smoke and leaves.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto tells before racing forward to grab her hands. "Are you okay?!" His argument with Sasuke already forgotten.

Sakura merely rolls her eyes. "Geez, Naruto. I already told you that I'm fine!" Before Naruto can speak again - to ask if she's "sure" - Kakashi steps forward and pats Naruto's head to distract him. For that, Sakura is grateful. "Mah mah, I confess myself...disappointed with you, Naruto, and you, Sasuke." At the surprised looks from each boy, he states the following: "Sakura-chan, please recite rule 10 of the shinobi list of rules."

"Rule 10 states that a shinobi must be aware of their surroundings to avoid ambush." She sees Sasuke's eyes darken while his face falls into a blank expression.

_He must think Kakashi-sensei is reprimanding him again..._

"Correct. Sakura-chan has been hiding in that tree," he jerks a thumb behind himself, "for nearly 10 minutes with her chakra concealed - I'm very impressed, by the way - while you two just stood here and argued. Imagine if she were an enemy nin," he ends casually. "We will spend time on concealing and flaring your chakra. It can - and will - save your life one day." He pats Sakura's shoulder. "Sakura-chan, here, is simply a natural."

"Whatever, sensei," Sakura replies.

Either he didn't hear it or ignored it, Kakashi continues speaking. "We will continue incorporating your new weapons into training via spars and one-on-one lessons. I am mildly impressed that you three managed so well earlier today despite having no prior experience with anything outside the standard lessons you learned in the Academy. For the rest of the evening, we will begin our lessons in ninjutsu. Now, Sakura-chan," he turns to her, a twinkle in his eyes. "Is there something you'd like to share with us?"

She rolls her eyes. "Of course, sensei." Sakura turns to face Naruto and Sasuke. It's clear Sasuke has already caught on because he looks interested enough, but Naruto looked equal parts confused and excited.

 _He graduated without knowing what chakra is_ , Sakura thinks. Her lips twitch into a smile.

"Well?!" Naruto says when she doesn't immediately speak. "What is it, Sakura-chan?!"

"I went to the specialist yesterday to get help figuring out my affinity and as it turns out...I have three!" Naruto lets out a big "Hell yeah!" while Sasuke's eyes widen. 'Three' she sees him mouth to himself.

"And what are those three, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi nudges gently.

"Earth, water, and...fire," Sakura answers while looking directly as Sasuke to see his reaction. For a fraction of a second, he seemed  _almost_  jealous. One blink, and then he looks oddly pleased.

_Pleased about what? Me?_

"But water and fire contradict each other," Naruto breaks the silence. "Won't it be hard to learn different ninjutsu at once?"

Sakura blinks, Kakashi coughs politely behind his gloved fist, and Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"She has perfect chakra control, idiot. She can handle it."

Internally, Sakura is  _glowing_. Absolutely glowing. It outweighs their earlier interaction. She beams at them. "Sasuke-kun is right, Naruto! I can handle it!" Giving him a thumbs up, she turns to Kakashi. "I think we're ready to start, sensei!"

"Alright! Gather around, my cute little students."

* * *

Kakashi calls it quits exactly at 10 PM and not a minute later. By then, Sakura has exhausted all but a 10th of her chakra practicing earth style techniques. Things like making small vines grow or lifting up roots or forming small barricades made of dirt or rock. Out of all of them, she's who manages the best. Applying theory to her chakra and recalling basic Academy knowledge aided her.

Naruto was able to form small tornados by the end of practice, so determined to not leave Ground 3 until he achieved that much. Since lightning is one of Sasuke's affinities, Kakashi taught him the basics of applying lightning to his weapons. At one point, Kakashi had Sasuke thrown charged weapons at Sakura and Naruto and ordered them to dodge them.

Sakura got a few scrapes and Naruto was hit once in the foot. That led to a large argument which ended with her shoving both of them away from each other because she needed to continue practicing without being distracted and  _if they weren't going to take this seriously then they can just leave_. She and Kakashi shared a secret high-five after that.

"I'm glad you're putting your foot down with them -  _equally_."

Following that, Sakura expressed something that actually stumped Kakashi.

"Wood release?" He asks quietly.

"I have water and earth, sensei. I think it...could be my thing, you know? Along with genjutsu?"

"Hmm, and what about fire?"

"Fire is Sasuke-kun's thing. I'm fine with learning just a few basic things for now because I can't be expected to learn...well, everything before the chunin exams. I just want something...different." She frowns. "Am I making sense, sensei?"

Kakashi chuckles and pats her head. "Perfect sense. There may be someone who can give you a run-down, but I won't make any promises - " He's cut-off when Sakura rushes forward and hugs him.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!"

"I'm not making promises," he replies in a hurry.

"But you're trying to help me, sensei. I appreciate it."

When he doesn't immediately reply, Sakura pulls away and looks up at him. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"You're my student, Sakura-chan. I'll always try to help you."

Sakura can't help it. Her eyes flicker to Sasuke; Team Seven's "best" (aside from their sensei) and a clear favorite among them.

"Ah, now I'm beginning to understand what Sasuke meant."

"Sensei?" Sakura blinks.

"Do you know why you were put on this team, Sakura?" There is no '-chan' attached to her name indicating that Kakashi is very serious about his question. Sakura shrugs. She had never given the team selection much thought other than being happy to be on a team with Sasuke, therefore 'gaining' a step ahead of Ino in their friends-turn-rivals conquest. "You were put on this team to ensure balance and progression."

Sakura frowns. "Balance and progression?"

Kakashi holds up one finger. "Naruto, the Academy dead last, would benefit from your intelligence and Sasuke's proficiency, you would benefit from their battle-ready capabilities, and Sasuke would benefit from being forced to work on a team. But it goes beyond that. Naruto is what many would call a 'bleeding heart' and he's ready and willing to do what it takes to help others. That's something greatly needed in our world today. Sasuke's attitude towards working on a team and those he deemed 'inferior' has changed significantly and he's much more willing to share the work. Your intelligence has kept you alive and aided Naruto and Sasuke in ways that I can not. Describing situations or explaining things in a simple fashion. You also view everything from a logical standpoint. The three of you balance each other out and, in doing so, lead to progression in your teamwork and skills."

"I'm just book smart, sensei."

"No," he shakes his head slowly. "You're so much more than that." Kakashi looks away and she follows his gaze. Naruto is going on and on about creating giant tornados and Sasuke is...smiling in the way Sasuke only knows how to smile - one upturned corner of the mouth. "Konoha's Rookie Nine," he continues, "is made up of Team Seven, Team Eight, and Team Ten. Of all of them, you are the only one that doesn't come from a shinobi background and yet...you tied with a  _Nara_  for the highest scores in the Academy. Sakura, that simply doesn't happen. You have the best chakra control for a genin seen in years, decades even. You're the only one I know that has three affinities from the beginning. That opens a lot of doors in this profession."

"It's hard not to compare myself," Sakura replies quietly. "I'll always be playing catch-up with them."

"Not necessarily. You're actually more advanced than them in chakra control and genjutsu, something I don't believe either of them will be on par with. Now tell me...what made you decide the career of a shinobi?"

Sakura looks back at Sasuke and Naruto, sees Naruto's wide grin and Sasuke's relaxed expression. "Because," she starts while still looking at them, "I want to make a difference in the world." She smiles when Naruto shoves Sasuke playfully and Sasuke shoves him back, just as playful. "Sensei?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"I found a new dream."

"And that is?"

"To make sure the dreams of my cherished ones come true."

"That's a wonderful dream, Sakura."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, things are different from canon (ex; Shikamaru having top scores in the Academy, Kakashi's showing less favoritism (from Sakura's PoV), a mutual respect taking place between Sasuke and Sakura, etc.) so if that's not your cup of tea, then this may not be the fanfic for you. The beauty of creative liberty and all that jazz. :D


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

_It's all fun and games,_

_Until it's not._

_Beware the spiders._

Two weeks fly by at such a quick pace, Sakura feels like she hasn't put enough work into her training. Much to her surprise, Naruto voices this as well and even Sasuke offers a nod. On the plus side, her muscles are much more toned and the blisters on her hands are hardened to the point that she doesn't feel much of anything anymore when she grips her weapons, specifically her naginata. And Sakura is thankful for being taught how to store weapons in a scroll. She knows Naruto appreciates that too. Sasuke keeps his sword strapped to his back. She made it clear that she wouldn't pull her naginata out unless she absolutely needed to.

"What do you t-think this second part of the training will be like?" Sakura covers her mouth to yawn again. She didn't get much sleep last night if her eye bags are anything to go by. Naruto expressed concern upon seeing her at their usual meet-up and even Sasuke appeared concern in the only way Sasuke knows how - a raised eyebrow and slightly inclined tilt.

"Something super awesome!" Naruto pumps a fist into the air. Another thing to take away from their training is Naruto becoming a morning person much to everyone's surprise.

Sakura rolls her eyes. "What do you think, Sasuke-kun?" He shrugs and Sakura sighs. "I think it will be some sort of survival training." That gains her two curious looks. "Just think about it, you two. We've been training our buts off in several different categories. We're much more well-rounded. Naruto, you can make tornadoes! Full-blown tornadoes. And Sasuke-kun, you can charge lightning into your sword and slice a stone pillar in half! Imagine how much better our time in Wave could have been if we had these skills!"

"You forgot yourself," Sasuke mumbles. "You've improved as well."

Naruto nods excitedly. "Yeah. You wrapped Kakashi-sensei in vines the other day and he was really surprised. It took him forever to get out of them!"

She doesn't blush - not this time - but sends them a sincere smile. "Thanks, Sasuke-kun. Thanks, Naruto."

Sasuke hums in response and Naruto gives her a thumbs up.

"We're totally badass," Naruto cheers. "We're going to kick ass no matter what he throws at us!" He scratches his cheek. "Whatever it is."

Sakura huffs playfully. "I did some research. The chunin exams are broken into three parts and each part tests a shinobi's skill; intelligence, survival, and combat."

The chunin exams are on them much quicker than Sakura expects. She started to taking notice of foreign shinobi and nobles pouring into Konoha to witness the feat, polite as ever when she's stopped for directions or asked for suggestions on where to eat.

"Sakura-chan is right."

Sakura takes pride in not jumping at the sound of Kakashi's voice. She has to turn away when Naruto trips in shock and Sasuke scowls deeply at their sensei.

"Right about the survival training, sensei?"

He reaches forward and pats her head gently. "Yup."

"What sort of super cool survival training are we gonna' do?!" Naruto asks while getting back up. "A survival course?"

 _Not a bad gues_ s, Sakura thinks immediately.

"Close, but no cigar. If you three would follow me, nice and quick. We'll begin your survival training."

And they do follow him at a steady pace away from Ground 3 and directly to -

"The Forest of Death?!" Sakura all but squeaks. "Our survival training is in there?!"

Kakashi blinks. "Well, yes. Will that be a problem, Sakura-chan?"

She looks past him to look at Sasuke and Naruto, both curious about her reaction.

_You're a kunoichi. You can handle this._

"O-Of course not, sensei."

"That's what I like to hear~" He pats her shoulder. He moves forward and gestures to the wild forest barely contained within steel gates. "As Sakura-chan said, this is The Forest of Death. Every decade or so, the jutsu surrounding the forest need to be strengthened to ensure that whatever is inside doesn't escape nor cause the forest to grow beyond this point."

"What's inside of it?!" Naruto's eyes are huge.

"Well...large tigers for one and giant spiders for another. Vicious plants and lots of vines."

Sasuke steps forward. "How...did it end up that way?"

Kakashi ruffles his hair. "You can blame Lord First for that. Senju Hashirama is the only person known to obtain wood release naturally and sometimes, as far as old records go, he liked to experiment and this is the result." Then Kakashi offers the three of them his signature eye smile. "But have no fear, Sasuke. Sakura is in the process of learning wood release so you're walking in there with an advantage."

"Thanks a lot, sensei," they all hear Sakura mumble under her breath.

"You have until Sunday night to make it to the tower in the center."

"Ah," Sakura nods. "And if we don't make it to Sunday?"

"If you don't make it," Kakashi pulls out his books, "you won't participate in the chunin exams."

Sakura tenses right along with Sasuke and feels as agitated as Naruto is loud about his displeasure.

"How is that fair?!" Naruto yells.

She sees Kakashi's visible eyebrow cock. "Need I remind you that the majority of fresh genin almost never take the chunin exams their first year? You're lucky I've considered entering you three despite your performance during our Wave mission."

"We've improved," Sasuke snaps. "In two weeks, we've improved beyond what you expected."

"I agree with you, Sasuke. You three have improved and I'm proud, but it's comical to think you'd be ready just after two weeks of rigorous training." He shrugs at Sasuke's obvious anger. "But as Sakura-chan mentioned earlier, the chunin exams are divided into three parts. We're testing your survival." Kakashi ruffles his hair. "Giving you until Sunday is being generous. I'll be incredibly impressed if you make it to the tower beforehand."

"Okay," Sakura says calmly. "Okay, sensei. We can do it."

"That's the spirit, Sakura-chan!" Kakashi steps forward and hands her a small scroll. "When you make it to the tower, open this scroll. Only," he pauses to look at them all, "Sakura opens this scroll."

"Why Sakura?" Sasuke asks.

His tone makes Sakura frown.

"Because I trust her to have the best hold on her temptation," Kakashi answers simply. "Now, a few last words of advice. One; despite what you think, your resources are limited. Be cautious about what you eat and drink but also think outside the box. Two; don't run head first into situations." He looks pointedly at Naruto. "This forest has been used for previous exams and they never clean up after them. Three; pay attention to your surroundings. What you think you see and what is really there - well, you'll figure it out. Hopefully. And finally...Sasuke?" Kakashi bends down to be directly in Sasuke's face. "What's the key to mission success?"

Sasuke is silent for a moment despite the obvious answer. Sakura bites her lip.

_Come on, Sasuke-kun. Just say it._

"Teamwork," Sasuke answers finally. Softly.

"That's a good boy." Kakashi nods. Sasuke huffs but doesn't speak otherwise. "Now then. On my mark." Sakura tenses between Sasuke and Naruto. "Get ready." She braces herself to leap over the fence. "Go."

And she leaps.

* * *

"Alright," Sakura starts when they stop on a tree branch high above the forest. "All we have to go on is that there's a tower somewhere in the middle of the forest. What do you guys think is our best method to get there?"

"Uh, let's just pick a direction and go," Naruto says.

"Surprisingly, I agree with the dope."

"Welp, there's a first time for everything," Sakura says and then giggles at Naruto's pout. "Sorry, Naruto, but your ideas haven't been - "

"They've sucked."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura smacks his shoulder.

He pauses.

Naruto pauses.

They both stare at her like she's grown a second head. Sakura doesn't notice first because she chooses that moment to look out at everything to gage a possible distance and gather her hair into a ponytail. It's only when the silence goes on too long that she turns to look back at them.

"Hm?"

"You hit S-Sasuke," Naruto sputters.

"Yeah, well, he was being mean." She looks at Sasuke and he just seems... _bewildered_. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun. But I was trying to be nicer about Naruto's, um, not good ideas."

He blinks and then the corner of his mouth twitches like he wants to smile but forces himself not too. "Whatever."

"Um, right. Anyways, let's just pick a direction and go from there. It's barely noon."

"North!" Naruto picks suddenly.

"East," Sasuke replies immediately.

Naruto scowls.

"Rock-paper-scissors?" Sakura suggests and that brings out the challenging aspect of Naruto's and Sasuke's personalities.

They go north after Sasuke losses three rounds of rock-paper-scissors. Naruto spends several minutes cheering at his wins and Sakura has to avoid looking at Sasuke or otherwise she'd laugh at his sour expression.

"How big is this forest?" Naruto whines.

"It's the biggest training ground in Konoha," Sakura replies. "It's over half the size - " She sees it a moment too late, the faded tag attached to a rusted kunai. The trees shake. There are flashes of red and white light, someone yelling, someone yanking her away, and then ringing starts in her left ear.

Someone shakes her shoulder. "You dumbass!" She barely hears Sasuke snarl. "You weren't paying attention at all!"

"I didn't - "

"Your carelessness could have killed Sakura!"

The silence following that is heavy, tense. She opens her eyes and groans. "Explosive tag?"

But Naruto is right on top of her, hugging her to his chest while frantically asking if she's okay. "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't mean it. Are you hurt badly? Do you need a drink of water?"

"Calm down," she manages. "You're squeezing me too hard."

He lets her go abruptly. "I'm okay," she says this to Naruto, "Really," and sends a pleading look to Sasuke who - upon seeing it - scoffs quietly and looks away. "We can't stay here." Slowly, with the help of Naruto, she regains her footing. "Who knows what will come of that." When neither boy replies, Sakura lets out an exasperated sigh. "Will you two just stop?! I am okay. So yeah, I'm a little winded, but I'll manage."

* * *

"Are you really okay?" Sasuke asks several minutes into their traveling.

"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun. Please, go easy on Naruto. It was an accident."

She only receives a quiet hum in response and Sakura counts it as a win.

* * *

They stop near a river about three hours in. Still, it feels like they haven't made any progress since entering. Sakura soaks her feet in the small waterfall while Naruto attempts to catch some fish. Sasuke already has a fire going to cook the fish, but Naruto's not having a lot of luck catching any if his splashes and yells are anything to go by.

"You suck at this, dope."

"Shut up!" Naruto yells as he dives for one and misses.

Sakura sighs. "Alright. Enough. Let's do a little teamwork. Sasuke, ready your kunai. Naruto move over." Sakura moves to stand in the water next to Naruto. "Remember that jutsu Kakashi-sensei taught us on our way back from Wave? To catch our fish?"

"Water manipulation? Sakura-chan, I sucked at that."

"It's fine, Naruto. We'll work on it. For now, just watch me." Sakura slowly went through the symbols of creating small circles of water that started to float out of the water as soon as she completed the required seals. There's a single fish inside the larger ones. "Now, Sasuke-kun!"

_Thwack. Thwack. Thwack._

Three fish are stuck to the tree next to their belongings via kunai. Sakura slowly moves the water back to the river before letting the jutsu fall and watched, satisfied, as the water falls back into the river.

"Yay!" Sakura pumps a fist into the air. "Let's cook them and eat. I'm hungry."

"Naruto can cook them," Sasuke states as he moves to retrieve the fish. "You and I need to gather water."

Sakura pauses. "Gather water in what?"

"You can manipulate wood, right?" He gathers the fish and starts tossing them to Naruto one-by-one.

"Yeah, but I'm not perfect at it yet."

"Just do your best," he replies.

With a slow nod, Sakura walks out of the river and moves towards the tree with a calculating look.  _Okay, you can do this. It's so simple. You've met up with Yamato-senpai a few times now. You can do something basic._  She forms three seals slowly, looking directly at her hands as she does so, and concentrates. Upon hearing some cracking noises, she looks up. Oddly shaped bowls are sticking out of the side of the tree.

"Close enough," she whispers under her breath while pulling out a kunai to hack them off the tree. "Will these do?" She turns to look at Sasuke.

"They're fine."

"Good, because I'm not doing it again for a while." Sakura barely catches the small smile on his face as she turns back around to get them off the tree. "I want to get better." Sakura gather's the lopsided bowls and brings them to Sasuke. She made five in total, two more than she thought is necessary but shrugs away. They are sturdy and smooth on the inside.

"We'll use three of them. Put the smallest in your hip pouch. We can carry that one around when we need to stop for a drink."

"Okay." She hands three to Sasuke, places the other on the ground, and maneuvers her weapons so the bowl doesn't stick out against her pouch in a strange way. "How's the fish coming along, Naruto?" Sakura calls out despite not looking.

"Good!" There's a slight tremor in his voice, one that has Sasuke and Sakura look at each other.

"You burnt them, didn't you?" Sasuke asks, annoyed.

"No..."

Sakura sighs. "Naruto?"

"Only a little..."

"Go check on him," Sasuke orders quietly. "See if they're salvageable."

"Okay, okay." Sakura walks over to the fire, sees the way Naruto tenses as she draws near, and looks over his shoulder. "They're not that bad, Naruto. You have them too close to the fire so they burned easier. For future reference," she moves around him, "keep them half a foot away from the fire, okay?"

"Okay. Sorry, Sakura-chan."

"It's alright."

"They're not that bad."

Sakura prides herself for not jumping when Sasuke suddenly appears next to her. They eat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, as the sun shines brightly overhead. It's getting hot.

"You can be sweet sometimes," Sakura mentions quietly as Naruto leads the way after they finish eating.

Sasuke hums. "I know he's trying," he pauses, struggling with words, "but he's annoying."

"You think I'm annoying," she replies. "In fact, you've called us both annoying, but lately you've been sweet."

He looks at her thoughtfully, something Sasuke rarely does out in the open. "You're changing. He's changing. I'm changing. It's better. We're getting better."

 _Getting better about what?_  Sakura wants to ask.  _Getting better individually? Better teamwork? Better communication?_

"I see."

Sasuke snorts. "I doubt it if that's your response."

Sakura slaps his arm playfully. "Don't be mean, Sasuke-kun!"

"Wha - Sasuke, you're being mean to Sakura-chan?!"

"Mind your own business," Sasuke snaps.

"Stop being a jerk, jerk!"

Sakura bounds ahead of Sasuke and soon Naruto, leaving them behind to argue. "We're wasting daylight! Can you two be  _annoying_ ," she smirks, "somewhere else? I, for one, want to complete our task."

Silence, and then, "Sakura-chan can be mean too."

"Agreed."

She only throws her head back and laughs.

* * *

Something's not right about the forest. As the sun sets for the day, they still haven't come across any indication that they're getting closer to the tower and, with the forest being just a bit smaller than Konoha, it just doesn't seem right. Even Sasuke is starting to get agitated, having snapped twice now, and falling into an argument with Naruto multiple times.

Sakura stops on a high tree branch and starts climbing up.

"What are you doing, Sakura-chan?!"

"What does it look like she's doing, dumbass?"

She ignores the argument that follows after and keeps climbing until she's at the very top to overlook the forest. There is no tower in sight nor anything that seems to be taking up a big space in the center of the forest. She turns around and doesn't see any sign of Konoha.

"Kai!"

But nothing changes.

"What is going on?"

Sakura turns to see Sasuke and Naruto behind her. "I don't know," she answers. "Something's not right about this."

"We should have been there by now," Naruto states somewhat surprisingly serious. "Do you think Kakashi-sensei did something about this?"

It's a good guess - great, really - and has Sasuke and Sakura share a look.

"Survival training," Sasuke replies, "and the tips he gave us."

Sakura forms the genjutsu dispell sign again, "Kai!" But everything stays the same.

"Maybe," Naruto starts, " - and just hear me out - but maybe it's not genjutsu. Maybe the forest is changing its self."

Sasuke froze along with Sakura. They looked at each other surprised and then turn to Naruto. It's plausible if anything. If previous exams took place in the forest, it would make sense as a way to challenge future chunin. Creative. Dangerous.  _Annoying._  And they weren't making progress - perhaps it's because they were going in circles instead of moving towards the center? A way to disorient them?

"Naruto, you really have your brilliant moments!"

He blushes and scratches his cheek. "Ah, thanks~"

"Okay, but how do we figure this out? There's no sign of the tower or Konoha."

"Alright," Sakura starts. "We stick to staying high in the trees. As high as we can, for as long as we can. Maybe the forest is changing and staying up in the trees may be the only way to see those changes. Are we agreed?" They nod. "Alright, let's move. We'll continue going north towards the center," she points to where the general center of the forest it. "Kakashi-sensei never said the tower would be large."

* * *

They do eventually make it to the center of the forest, to the tower, in the early hours of the morning the following day. The night was spent in light sleeping shifts, fighting off giant spiders, eating half-burnt fish and squashed berries, and getting tangled up in long vines. Like Sasuke stated, the small bowl Sakura made came in handy for gathering water. They were reluctant to leave the high trees so Sakura's suggestion of tapping trees helps a lot. Naruto had fun shoving his kunai into the thinner bark to get the water flowing and Sasuke was quick to make a dipper stick so the bowl would fill easier.

But they made it.

"I like the forest, but I don't ever want to come back," Naruto says as they walk to the front entrance.

"You're just saying that because Sakura saved you from being eaten by a large spider."

"I hate spiders," Naruto whines. "They're gross and that one could have taken my leg!"

Sakura rubs her temples. "Just be more aware of your surroundings, Naruto. I might not save you next time." They stop in front of the door and look at each other. "Ready?" Simultaneous nods, she opens the door. They are immediately blasted by AC. No one is inside, but the lights in the room are on.

"Open the scroll, Sakura."

She looks at Sasuke before nodding slowly, pulling the scroll out as she does. Forming a circle, they all stare down at it with determination. But Sakura doesn't open it slowly. No. She rips the seal and spreads it open fast.

"Drop it!" Sasuke says. Urgent. "It's a summoning scroll." Sakura knows this but does as he says. The thick white smoke surrounds them briefly before disappearing rapidly.

"Honestly, sensei. You can be so dramatic." Sakura crosses her arms over her chest.

Kakashi stands there, hands on his hips. "Mah mah, Sakura-chan. Don't be mean." Then he turns to address Naruto and Sasuke along with her. "Go job, kiddies~ I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon. How did you manage?"

"We felt like we were going in circles - "

" - Sakura-chan couldn't break the genjutsu because there was no genjutsu to break - "

" - Naruto, surprisingly, figured it out - "

"Shut up, asshole - "

"Did we do good, sensei?" Sakura interrupts her teammates to avoid an unnecessary argument.

Kakashi nods. "You did very well," he replies. "Good job!"

"Is this it, sensei?" Sasuke asks.

"Of course not, Sasuke-chan. Now you need to make it back to the front gate before noon tomorrow."

"What?!" Naruto yells. "We have to go back through all of that?!"

"Oh, are you tired?" It's asked with a mocking tone. "Do you want to give up already?"

That stops Naruto and he glares at Kakashi. "No! I never give up!"

"Good."

"Why before noon?" Sakura steps forward.

"Because we need to work on time management as well. Don't fail your mission!" And then he disappears in a puff of white smoke.

Sakura walks over to a chair and sits down. "I don't know about you two, but I need a breather for a few moments." She peels off her hoodie, pulls a hair tie from her thigh pouch, and gather her long hair up into a ponytail.

"Why do you wear hoodies now, Sakura? They're illogical given the recent weather."

"Because I'd rather have layers to take off than be stuck in the same hot outfit all day, Sasuke-kun. Besides, it was chilly this morning."

* * *

"I can't believe we have to figure out our way back. I can't even see anything resembling Konoha!"

"Naruto, stop complaining."

"But Sakura-chan - "

"That's a spider next to your face, dope."

A loud screech echoes across the forest followed by the sound of someone slapping a hand to their forehead in annoyance.

* * *

Kakashi greets them late that night, chuckling at their appearance when they hop over the gate to greet him.

"How'd you know to be here?"

Giggle. Snort. "I had f-faith in you three." Giggle. "Besides, none of you bothered to hide your chakra signatures. So, what happened?"

"Naruto's greatest fear is spiders," Sasuke deadpans. "We won't survive the chunin exams because of him."

"H-Hey," Naruto starts, head shaking. "I'll get over it."

Sakura steps forward while ringing out her hair to the best of her ability. "Stop being mean, Saskue-kun. We'll figure something out before we come back."

"Come back?" Kakashi asks. "What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"

She snorts. "I'm not a fool, sensei. You said it yourself that this place is used for previous exams. The chunin exams are in a week and a half and this forest tests survival skills. It's easy to connect the dots." She frowns. "Though, I don't feel like we faced our biggest challenge."

"We explored the rooms too. Stocked medical supplies, freshly washed bed sheets...we saw the arena, sensei." Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"That's cheating," Kakashi replies.

"Giving us an advantage over our competition is also cheating, sensei."

"We're shinobi," Naruto shrugs as if that's the only answer Kakashi needs.

"Okay then, but why are you three wet?"

Suddenly, Naruto is under the glare of his respective teammates. "Um, well, I tripped and I grabbed onto Sasuke - "

" - who grabbed onto me - "

"We fell in the river. It's Naruto's fault."

Naruto throws his arms into the air. "I said sorry, like, five times!"

Kakashi chuckles. "Alright, my cute little students~" He places a hand on both Sasuke's and Naruto's shoulder to keep them distracted enough to not fall into an argument and Sakura sends him a thankful look. "Let's go over your experience. You're done far quicker than I expected, but I'm glad nonetheless."

And they do.

And they argue.

And they laugh.

Naruto cries twice because of the spiders. Kakashi is surprised to learn that Naruto didn't complain about not having ramen. They all are, in fact. He's even more surprised when Naruto tells him that Sakura slapped Sasuke's arm, twice, and Sasuke confirms both times.

"Looks like you had fun, but this survival training didn't go the way I planned. You three had it far too easy and the chunin exams won't be easy." This has the three of them look at Kakashi, attentive and serious. "Among spiders, you'll be facing shinobi from other villages. Their skills are far and wide and it will be a challenge. And yes," he raises a hand to stop Sasuke from interrupting, "I know you three have improved, but I'm still doubtful that you'll be ready in time for the exams."

They remain silent.

"So here's what we're going to do." He pulls out a sheet of paper from his hip pouch and hands it's to Sakura. "There's always room for improvement. As far as abilities go, your taijutsu has improved the most. Your knowledge of jutsu has widened, but knowing and performing are two different things. Sakura, you still want to learn wood release?" At her nod, he continues. "You will start meeting with Yamato after lunch. He's also knowledgeable in water type jutsu. Two birds, one stone. Sasuke, we'll continue working on lightning style jutsu. Naruto, you will also be with me. Sometimes, you won't be." Kakashi sighs. "Your mornings will remain the same as they have been the last two weeks. After lunch, we'll meet at Ground 3 and then we'll split for three hours to practice ninjutsu. Sakura with Yamato, Sasuke and Naruto with me, Naruto with Yamato, Sakura with me, and so on and so forth. It will vary each day because you three need to work with different styles and step out of your comfort zone. In the evening, we'll come back together to spar. Any questions?"

"No, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good. Now go home and get some rest. You'll need to get up early."

"We know the drill," Sakura replies.

"Until tomorrow," he waves and then disappears in a flicker of black.

Sakura stretches. "See you guys tomorrow," she says as she starts walking away.

"Do you want me to walk you home, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asks excitedly.

"Um, no thank you, Naruto. Maybe next time, okay?"

Naruto pouts. "Okay. Good night." He turns to Sasuke. "Wanna' get ramen?"

"You're paying," Sasuke replies as he, too, walks away.

"W-What?!"

* * *

She's pulling out her keys to unlock her door when she hears it.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?"

Slowly, Sakura turns around and sees Ino, of all people, standing there with a bundle of white lilies in her hand.

_Why tonight of all nights?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have the time, please review.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

_Complications are a part of life,_

_Whether you choose to overcome them or not..._

_Is up to you._

"You've been distracted this entire time," Yamato states with certainty when Sakura, once again, fails to create a wooden dome. "I'm not your Academy assigned sensei, but I'm still your sensei in this case. Do you want to talk about it?" The sincerity in his voice is what stops the denial on Sakura's lips.

Instead, she turns to face him with an almost defeated look. "One of my friends - ex-friend? rival? - and I spoke a few days ago and the conversation didn't go the way I planned, sensei - "

_Ino stares at Sakura expectantly, pale blue eyes narrowing in on Sakura when she shifts on her feet, key still firmly gripped in her hand. "Forehead girl, answer me!"_

_Sometimes, Sakura forgets how demanding Ino can be. Time away from her does not help the situation. In fact, Sakura feels very annoyed that Ino would demand an answer. Ino has not been privy to information about Sakura since she renounced their friendship over no longer wanting to be in Ino's shadow. There were some Sasuke related feelings involved, but not nearly as much as Ino believes._

_"You don't always get your way, Ino." Sakura turns away. "I live here." She hears Ino approach quickly._

_"Why? You're not an orphan."_

_Sakura rolls her left shoulder in an attempt to alleviate the stress building up there. "No, I'm not. I just thought some independence would do me some good. Maybe you should try it sometime?" With that, Sakura places her key in the lock, twists it, and opens the door._

_"These apartments are owned by the Nara clan. How could you have possibly managed to land an apartment here?"_

_"I happen to know Shikaku-san," Sakura replies. "You're not privy to any other information, Ino." She sighs. "Look, I'm really tired and I have to be up super early in the morning. We have less than one weeks before the chunin exams and Kakashi-sensei is training us to the bone." Sakura looks over her shoulder. "Just don't worry about and don't go bothering Shikamaru."_

_She sees Ino shift. "You've changed." It's a very simple statement that has a lot more impact than Sakura appreciates._

_"Experiences change us, Ino. Good night."_

" - and we haven't been able to speak about it yet. With the exams in a few days and the tight schedule Kakashi-sensei set up, it's not a priority."

Pushy. Pushy Pushy.

"Perhaps, it should be." Sakura blinks, surprised. "You're distracted and this is worrisome because you cannot allow yourself to be distracted during the exams. It could very well cause you to be disqualified. Or worse. I encourage you to resolve it within the next few days. Now," he moves away. "I want you to clear your head of all conflict and only focus on completing this jutsu. Easier said than done but I know you're capable."

Sakura inhales, exhales, and straightens her back. "Yes, sensei."

Yamato smiles kindly. "Do you need me to repeat the hand signs?"

She shakes her head. "No, sensei."

He claps his hands a few times. "Okay. I want you to make a dome at least half the size of the tree behind me. Remember the breathing exercises we practiced. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sensei."

"I want you to complete the hand signs at a pace you are comfortable with, Sakura. You may begin."

The hand signs are not difficult. It took her merely two times of observing to get them down. Her only problem involves releasing too much chakra into the jutsu. Wood release is hard to master. The level of focus and skill that goes into it is somewhat intimidating. Yamato mentioned briefly in the past that she is lucky to have the affinities for it ahead of time and that her grasp of chakra is close to perfection. Sakura never commented on the faraway look that entered his eyes during their first conversation.

Yamato is almost as puzzlingly as Kakashi, only much more open about his emotions. Friendly, but not overly so.

Kneeling on the ground on one knee, Sakura forms the signs quickly and keeps the last sign formed pressed against her chest as she gazes - with the utmost determination - at the ground between her and Yamato. Slowly, every so slowly, the ground starts to ripple until a mound starts to appear and grows. It continues to grow at a slow pace until it's above Yamato's head and continues onward. It's much too slow for Sakura's tastes but she did want to learn wood release before the exams.

Something trails down her face and she quickly deduces it to be sweat.

"Good, good." She can barely hear Yamato's praise.

The wood-related figure is tall enough within a few minutes but it needs to expand much more horizontally. Sakura steadily focuses on doing just that. For roughly five minutes, she widens the dome until she deems it acceptable and releases the sign. There's a thin line of sweat running down the sides of her face but Sakura feels proud.

Her dome is nowhere near as perfect as the one Yamato showed her earlier in the day, but she managed. Despite that -

"Excellent!"

\- "It's so ugly."

She laughs.

"You merely need more practice. It's almost unfortunate you're entering this summer's chunin exams." He sighs.

"Why?" Sakura tilts her head. She doesn't know how she feels about his statement.

"Because if you were to wait until next year's exam, I believe it would be enough time for you to master wood release. Nevertheless," he shrugs with a grin, "we'll get in what we get in. I have faith in you, Sakura."

Sakura grins.

_"I have faith in you, Sakura," Kakashi tells her as she cuts him out of her vines. In the background, she can hear Naruto's booming laughter clear from the other side of Ground 3. "You'll do your team proud."_

_"Thank you, sensei."_

"Thank you, sensei."

Yamato glances down at his wrist. "We have roughly another hour before we switch and I," Yamato sighs, "take on Naruto and Sasuke." Sakura giggles. She's heard plenty of  _interesting_  stories about Naruto and Sasuke from Yamato these last few days. "How about we spar?"

Sakura stands up. "Okay."

"I won't hold back, Sakura."

She drops into a fighting stance. "I would be insulted if you did, sensei."

* * *

Sakura follows after Yamato at a slower pace, a subtle limp accompanying her. She fiddles with her long hair hanging in a loose, messy braid over her shoulder. Her spars with Yamato, like always, end with her beat down but  _happy_. Very happy. Yamato doesn't hold back in any form and she deeply appreciates it. She cannot improve if her opponents go easy on her.

"Maybe I did overdo it," she hears him quietly just ahead of her.

"Don't worry about it," Sakura replies as Yamato stops to allow her to catch up to him. "You're above my level in many, if not all, forms." Then she adds cheekily, "Sensei."

Yamato merely rolls his eyes good-naturedly. "If you say so." He grins. "My young pupil."

Sakura stifles a light giggle behind her hand. "What will you be teaching Naruto today?"

"I'll be teaching him how to not force so much chakra into one area of his body." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Senpai really shouldn't have waited until just before the exams to ask me about this."

"Oh," Sakura replies. She doesn't know what to say to that.

"I don't mind. Truly. Your sensei has always been like that in one way or another."

Sakura hums thoughtfully. "How long have you known Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-sensei? At least a decade?"

Yamato chuckles. "I'm two years younger than your sensei, Sakura. We meet when I was 15 and he was 17. Not quite a decade has passed."

"How did you meet?" They steer off the main road and head into the fields towards Ground Three.

She hears a sigh. "I was placed on his squad."

"Oh," she's surprised. "This is something you can't talk about, right? Classified? Confidential?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But," Yamato grins a little mischievously, "if you pester him enough, you may get something out of him." She blinks and he shrugs. "It worked for me. Or you could just call him 'senpai' and see where that takes you."

Sakura laughs. "He doesn't like being called 'senpai' I take it?"

"He hates it."

"Who hates what?"

Sakura takes pride in not jumping when Kakashi flash-steps in front of them. There's a thin layer of sweat visible on the right side of his face and his silver hair is far more wild than usual. Behind him, Sakura can hear the shuffles and groans of her male teammates. She even hears a familiar whimper come from Naruto and tries not to wince at the sight of them when they stop next to Kakashi.

Sasuke has a nasty bruise forming around his left temple and his hands are twitching like mad. She's not sure, but she thinks she sees minor burn marks on the tips of his fingers. Naruto, on the other hand, it filthy. There's mud in his hair and dirt on his face and large portions of his loud jumpsuit are covered by grass stains and dirt. He, like Sasuke, is sporting some bruising around his left temple.

"Did you collide?" Sakura steps forward, concern clear on her face. "Do you need to go to a hospital?"

Before either Naruto and Sasuke could speak, Kakashi places a hand on one shoulder each. "Nay, Sakura-chan. The boys just fell into an argument and decided to work out their frustration. It ended when Sasuke pushed Naruto down the hill after he head-butted him."

Sakura stares at Kakashi and then Naruto and then Sasuke. She sends a look to Yamato...and completely loses it. Laughter spills from her lips in loud, hearty noises and she has to clutch her stomach just to keep herself from falling over.

"Mah mah, Sakura-chan. It really hurts!"

"I-I'm sorry, Naru-ruto! But you and S-Sasuke-kun are hilarious!" Sakura calms down a bit and wipes the laughter tears away. "I mean, look at you. You're cute like toddlers. You fight like toddlers. You're just so funny." She ends up leaning on Yamato and gestures to her scowling teammates. "This is my life, Yamato-sensei. Kakashi-sensei and I look after toddlers~!"

Kakashi lifts his hand from Sasuke's shoulder and strokes his covered chin. "Hm, that's a good comparison. Good job, Sakura-chan."

She giggles before stepping forward, hand already digging into her pouch for her small jar of healing balm. "I'm sorry." She pulls out the jar and twists it open. "May I?" This is directed at Sasuke. At his jerky nod, she gently applies a little bit to his temple and bites her lip to keep herself from cooing at the soft sigh of relief that escapes Sasuke's mouth. "And you, Naruto." Sakura turns away from Sasuke and repeats the action with the same tenderness.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan."

She nods, puts the jar away, and places her hands on her hips. "It's time for us to switch and I expect you both to be on your best behavior while training under Yamato-sensei today. Am I clear?" She cocks an eyebrow at Sasuke's immediately scoff. "I was planning on bringing my lemon water tomorrow but with your attitude, maybe I won't."

Naruto's jaw drops. "B-But Sakura-chan!"

Sakura sends him an unimpressed look that sends Naruto moving around Kakashi to shake Sasuke. "Oi! Asshole! We gotta' be good today!" It takes Sasuke a few moments to break out of Naruto's hold.

"Whatever."

She reaches forward and pats both of them on the cheek. "Please let me know if they misbehavior, Yamato-sensei."

"Of course."

Sakura can clearly hear the mirth in his voice. "Alrighty! Have fun." She moves around them to stand next to Kakashi and smiles brightly. Naruto and Sasuke follow Yamato while grumbling under their breath.

"Well, sensei," Sakura looks up. "What's on today's menu?"

Kakashi chuckles and pats her head. "You'll see."

* * *

"But my close combat really lacks, Kakashi-sensei."

"It's not as bad as you believe it to be, Sakura-chan."

"Compared to Sasuke-kun and Naruto, I suck at close combat, Kakashi-sensei."

"When will you stop comparing yourself to the boys, Sakura-chan."

"When I catch up to them in terms of skill and strength, Kakashi-sensei." When he doesn't reply, Sakura looks away while biting her lip. "I'm not a fool, Kakashi-sensei. I'm the weak link of Team Seven. I - "

" - You have nearly perfect chakra control which means you more easily adapt to higher leveled jutsu when given the time to practice. You're a natural genjutsu type and, if that skill is honed, could eventually lead you to become a master and that, in and of its self, is rare. Within the last month, your taijutsu has improved tremendously. Your weapon training is on par with Sasuke. You can easily keep up with the boys now." There's an odd aura around him now. "You have three chakra affinities, Sakura-chan. That's incredibly rare and you're excelling in two of them and now you're on your way to learning wood release."

Clenching her first, Sakura looks him in the eye. "I don't want to be the reason Team Seven fails the chunin exams."

"None of you will fail."

"How can you be so sure, sensei?"

He pulls a scroll and hands it to her. "Because I know how capable you three are." Sakura opens it and then promptly stares at it. "I had a feeling you three would be doubting yourselves so close to the exam."

"It's blank, Kakashi-sensei."

He chuckles. "I know." A second later, he produces a pen. "I want you to spend a moment and write why you choose this career and what keeps you grounded when you doubt your abilities. Can you do that for me, Sakura-chan?"

"I," Sakura feels her throat tighten for some reason. "Yes. Of course."

"Good. Once you're done," he pulls out his book, "we'll begin."

* * *

Sakura looks at her bruised and bleeding knuckles with satisfaction. She and Kakashi had, up until about two minutes, been sparing via hand-to-hand combat and it was exciting. Thrilling. And she had fun. The moment she finished writing in the scroll, Kakashi ordered her to seal it and hand it back over, stating that it would not be open until the end of the exams.

After that, they went all out.

Well, she went all out.

Kakashi, of course, held back because he's a jounin with way too much experience behind him and he would have pulverized her within seconds if he went all out.

But still, she managed to land a few good hits on him.

She, Haruno Sakura, of a civilian family, with no real skill until recently, managed to land not one - not two - but  _three_  hard hits on Kakashi; the lasting one causing her knuckles to burst open and bleed. And the look on his face had been well worth it.

"Neither Sasuke nor Naruto managed a single hit, Sakura-chan, and I spared with them in the same fashion." There's some akin to pride in his visible eye. "You're well on your way to becoming a great shinobi. I'm proud of you."

Four simple words and the pain in her knuckles fade to a dull ache and tears burn the corners of her eyes.

_I'm proud of you._

Sakura smiles sincerely at Kakashi while the images of her blood parents flash across her mind.

_He's proud of me while you two only ever tried to keep me from succeeding._

"Thank you, sensei."

_His words outweigh yours._

* * *

When she and Kakashi meet up with Yamato and the boys, Sakura smiles at them. Sasuke seems relaxed, satisfied even. Naruto has an easy-going grin on his face. They're both incredibly dirty from head to toe but appear okay. Yamato is a few paces behind them. When their eyes meet, Sakura inclines her head towards them, one eyebrow raised in a questioning expression.

He smiles and nods.

Satisfied, Sakura greets the three of them with a grin. "How was training, boys?"

"Amazing!" Naruto stops next to Sakura and throws up a peace sign. "I have a better grasp of the amount of chakra I should use when performing a jutsu. It's not perfect, but I'm getting there."

"That's great, Naruto!" She smiles when Naruto's cheeks turn red before turning to Sasuke. "And you, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke's posture, surprisingly enough, is bordering on lazy. "I'm close to perfecting a fire-based jutsu that originates from my family."

"Oh," Sakura tilts her head. "Can I ask about it?"

He shrugs easily. "I want to be able to create a fire dragon. It's a complicated procedure that drains my chakra far too quickly for my liking, but I'll manage. I don't intend to use it during the exam."

Sakura's eyes widen. "That's amazing, Sasuke-kun - "

" - What happened to your hands, Sakura-chan?!"

She blinks, confused, when Naruto gently takes one of her bandaged hands in his and trails over the bandages briefly, bright blue eyes gazing worriedly at her. Sakura bites her lip, somewhat surprised by his reaction.

"Kakashi-sensei and I fought hand-to-hand combat, Naruto. I got a few hits in but this is the result." Then, in a much softer voice, "I'm okay. I promise."

He bites his lip, but nods and releases his hold. Though, he and Sasuke take up space on her sides. A quick touch to her wrist, fleeting, draws her attention to Sasuke who, unlike Naruto, doesn't voice his concern. Her smile eases the tension in his shoulders.

"So, three more days," Yamato begins. "Do you think you're ready?"

Naruto pumps a fist in the air. "Hell yeah, sensei! We're going to kick ass."

Sakura shares in Naruto's enthusiasm by wrapping an arm around his shoulders and Sasuke's. "We'll make it." She bumps Sasuke's hip with her own and grins widely when he nods. She flashes the peace sign to Kakashi before sending a more reserved smile. They did speak throughout their spar and, with Kakashi's reassurance, she feels better.

"Alright. We'll break for dinner and meet back up in one hour. Tonight, we're going to end early but I want to see you three spar each other."

"Aw, why?!" Naruto wraps an arm around Sakura's waist - not that she minds - and stomps his foot.

Kakashi regards him seriously. "We need to be realistic, Naruto. There's a chance you'll be facing Sasuke or Sakura at some point and you need to learn to play to each other's weaknesses and strengths. Sparring helps with this. In this case, at least you all gain an advantage on each other."

Sakura feels Naruto tense and breaks away.

"And neither of you better go easy on me!" She ends this with hands on her hips. "Am I clear?"

Sasuke and Naruto share a look, one of unease, before quickly turning to her with grim, but determined nods. She smiles. "Good. Now, let's go eat. I'll treat tonight."

Naruto's eyes widen, his posture full of excitement. "Ramen?"

Her eyes flicker to Sasuke who offers a subtle shrug. She grins. "Ramen."

Letting out a big "woohoo," Naruto turns and sprits for the ramen restaurant. "Race you!" Sasuke is gone in a second.

"Thank you for your hard work, Yamato-sensei!" Sakura bows before chasing after the boys. "See you later, Kakashi-sensei," she calls over her shoulder.

* * *

"They're going to do well, senpai." He chuckles when Kakashi sighs.

"Don't call me that, but I know. They've grown a lot in the last month." He pulls out his orange book. "I'm proud them."

Yamato shoves his hands in his pockets. "Asuma-san mentioned a betting pool? I may enter in on that."

"My kids will succeed," Kakashi replies casually. Confidently. "And I'll walk away with enough money to buy the next five volumes."

"You already have the money to buy the next five volumes, senpai."

He only receives an eye smile.

* * *

She bites back a groan when her back collides with the ground, Naruto ends up sprawled several feet away from her.

"Did you have to hit me so hard, Sakura-chan?" Naruto wails. "My bruises have bruises and my cuts have cuts and my - "

Sakura sits up slowly. "You almost snapped my wrist, dummy!" Her wrist is aching from where he grabbed it in a poor attempt to twist it behind her back. That failed miserably when she jerked her head backward and hit Naruto square in the forehead. "You're lucky I didn't give you a black eye!"

"Sakura-chan wins~"

"Wha - "

A chuckle sounds across the clearing. "Sakura-chan landed 30 hits on you Naruto. Remember what I said before we started? The first to 30 wins."

"You only managed to hit her 19 times." Silence. "Dope."

Naruto is on his feet in an instant. "I'm going to kick your ass! Get over here!"

"It is your turn, Sasuke. Maybe you should take him up on it?"

Sakura rolls to her stomach and pushes herself to her feet. "Kick his ass, Sasuke-kun!"

"Wha - ! Sakura-chan, come on!" Naruto whines.

She pivots on the spot and flashes him a toothy grin. "You deserve it," she sing-songs while walking over to Kakashi as Naruto and Sasuke get into position.

"Begin," Kakashi calls out. They clash in a flurry of strikes and blocks. "You did very well tonight, Sakura-chan. Much better than you expected?"

Sakura nods. "Way better than I expected. I can't believe I  _won_."

Kakashi hums. "What was your thought process while you were sparring Naruto?"

Watching as Naruto manages to land a terrific blow on Sasuke's right side, Sakura thinks about her spar with Naruto. What was her thought process? She only had a few basic ideas she wanted to work with but - "Naruto relies too heavily on his shadow clones. If he focused less on them and more on my attacks, he probably would have won."

She receives a nod. "And you left him an opening as well."

"Twice, sensei. And he either didn't notice or decided to go easy on me. Either way, he didn't win."

"He didn't win," Kakashi confirms while reaching over to pat her on the head. "I forgot to ask, but how did training with Yamato-san go today?"

"I can make an okay wood dome," Sakura shrugs. "I probably should have waited until after the exams to try and learn wood release. It's a difficult concept, Kakashi-sensei. I long for the day where I can just do it without thinking."

Kakashi chuckles. "I'm sure many share the same thought, but I'm proud of you for sticking it out as long as you are."

She flashes him the peace sign. "I'm not giving up, sensei."

He hums. "He is also teaching you earth style jutsu."

"Still angry about the vines, sensei?"

"I was never angry, just surprised. The level of concentration that is required to perform it accurately is high. You've improved so greatly in such a short amount of team...I have high hopes for you. All three of you."

For the next hour or so, they watch Naruto and Sasuke spar with a high intensity until Sasuke lands a devastating blow on Naruto's gut and sends him to the ground with a grunt. Naruto sits up and stares at Sasuke in something like awe or amazement. Sasuke, on the other hand, walks the few feet to Naruto and offers his hand.

Sakura is grinning incredibly wide when Naruto takes it without hesitation and allows Sasuke to haul him to his feet.

"You guys did great!" She moves towards them. "Good job!"

Naruto scratches his cheek sheepishly. "Thank you, Sakura-chan."

"Looks like it's Sasuke and Sakura's turn," Kakashi calls off from the side. "Get into position."

"Promise to not go easy on me, Sasuke-kun," Sakura states while Naruto walks over to sit under the tree Kakashi is leaning against.

"Tch."

"Sasuke-kun." There's a warning in her voice.

Sigh. "Promise."

Sakura grins. "Okie dokie!" She turns to Kakashi. "We're ready!"

Naruto shoots her a thumbs up. "Kick his ass, Sakura-chan!"

"Begin."

* * *

Sakura walks to her apartment with a slight limp. Sasuke promised not to go easy on her and kept his promise. Although, Sakura grins to herself, she did manage 18 to his 30 and that speaks a lot to her improvement. Even Kakashi mentioned it. When they were finished and Kakashi dismissed them for the night, Sasuke offered to walk her home. Naruto, upon hearing Sasuke's offer, jumps in on the idea.

She was quick to shut it down.

_"I appreciate it, guys, but I can manage on my own." She lifts her arms and flexes. "These aren't just for show."_

_Naruto's blushes while Sasuke rolls his eyes good-naturedly._

_"Whatever you say."_

Naruto lives near the Hokage Tower and Sasuke lives on the other side of the clan district so she doesn't have to worry about bumping into him - unless Sasuke decides to take a late night trip to the market.

_"I'll see you guys tomorrow morning and I'll bring my lemon water, okay?"_

_Naruto pumps a fist into the air. "Hell yeah! See ya' tomorrow, Sakura-chan!"_

_Sasuke offers her the tiniest, barely there, wave._

When she sees her apartment, Sakura picks up her pace. She longs for a shower and a nice cup of hot tea and she might read one of the books she borrowed from the library a few days previous. Upon getting closer, Sakura feels her heart skip a beat. Familiar pale blonde hair, followed by a casual outfit (green in color), and one bag held in her hand, Ino stands with her back to the rail outside of Sakura's apartment.

When she doesn't turn, Sakura assumes she can't sense her and decides to take the easy way up to her apartment. With a jump - and two, and three - she lands in front of her door and grins when she hears Ino's startled gasp.

"Here to interrogate me again?" Sakura asks while she fishes out her key. "I'm a little tired so you might not have much luck." She unlocks her door, walks in, and leaves the door wide open as an invitation. Once inside, Sakura toes off her sandals and heads directly for the cabinet next to her fridge. "Tea?"

"Yes. Jasmine with - "

" - three sugars and light cream. Yes, I remember."

She only receives a hum in reply.

"Nice place you got." Sakura hears the light scrap of one of the dining table's chairs. "How long have you been here?"

Sakura thinks about the clothes scattered all over her couch and the two hoodies draped over a chair at the dining table. She thinks about the strands of pink hair sticking to her sink and the half ate apple resting on the counter next to the sink. She's not normally a messy person, but with Kakashi's training schedule she has been somewhat lazy.

"Roughly a month."

"Right after your mission in Wave? That's...interesting."

Sakura drops three sugars into Ino's tea, stirs, adds a dash of cream, stirs, and presents it to her rival - friend? - with a small smile. After that, she proceeds to gather up her clothes and drop them in her room to clean up after Ino leaves.

"How is that interesting?" Sakura asks as he discards the rotting apple.

"It's just...your mission in Wave was a troubling experience, right? I thought you'd want to be home with your parents."

Sakura barely conceals a flinch. "My parents and I got to talking and I just rather have a place to myself. They worry too much, ya' know?" That causes Ino to crack a tiny smile and Sakura almost sighs in relief.

"My dad says a parent never worries too much - "

" - only that they worry too little," Sakura finishes. "Remember the time we decided to build an immunity to poison? Your mom hovered for hours!"

Ino snorts. "My dad grounded me for weeks! I wasn't allowed to help my mom in the flower shop!"

Sakura grins. "But it worked."

"But it worked," Ino concludes. They sit there in silence, reminiscing about the old days, while Sakura makes her tea. When she's finished, she takes a seat across from Ino.

"What's in the bag?" Sakura nods towards the bag Ino discarded on the table. "Something you wanna' share with me?"

Ino places her mug on the table and slides the bag towards Sakura without a word. Curious, Sakura takes the bag and opens it and stares. Mildly confused, she pulls the object out of the bag and sets it on the table. It's a white teddy bear with pale green eyes and a red ribbon around its neck. Sakura recognizes the ribbon almost immediately.

She strokes the tips of her fingers over the incredibly soft fur. "Why?" Sakura asks, refusing to meet Ino's sharp gaze. She hears Ino shift in her seat.

"You could have died on the Wave mission and the last thing I said to you before you left, back in the Academy, related to Sasuke-kun. Can you imagine the impact that would have had on me? I wouldn't have been able to live with myself, Sakura."

Her gaze snaps to Ino. It's been years since Ino referred to her by her given name.

"You're not obligated to worry about me, Ino."

Ino huffs. "That's not the point. The point is that we allowed a boy to come between our friendship!"

Sakura starts fiddling with the red ribbon. "I didn't give this back to you because of Sasuke-kun. I gave this back to you because I wanted to stand on my own two feet and I couldn't do that if I was following your lead every single time we were together. I want to become a great kunoichi in my own right." She pulls the bear into her lap and smiles a little. "Besides, my feelings for Sasuke-kun are far less romantic and much more platonic, family-based now."

"Really?" Ino doesn't sound condescending, just intrigued.

"Everything has changed since my team and I returned from Wave." Sakura squeezes the bear tightly. "For the better, I think."

Ino nods slowly. "You're different, but not in a bad way."

A chuckle passes through Sakura's laugh. "I would hope so. Kakashi-sensei has had us on a strict training schedule for the last month."

"I hope we face each other in the chunin exams," Ino replies after a moment of silence. "I want to see how much you've improved."

Sakura shoots her a toothy grin. "The feeling is mutual."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are looking forward to the next chapter because I honestly look forward to writing it. So, things between Sakura and Ino have settled more and I received quite a number of requests for more ShikaSaku moments so expect that in the future chapters. Feel free to send requests for moments between characters. I'll try to incorporate some. If you have the time, please review.


	8. Chapter Seven - Part One

**Chapter Seven - Part One**

_His eyes are terrifying._

_There's too much reflected in them,_

_And then suddenly there's nothing._

* * *

His name is Sabaku no Gaara and she met him the night before the chunin exams.

* * *

After making Naruto and Sasuke promise to get some rest and eat a decent meal for breakfast - "Not ramen, Naruto. Please eat a cucumber at least." - and to make sure their weapon pouches are properly stocked, Sakura bids her teammates a pleasant evening and waves after them when Naruto immediately suggests Sasuke treat him to ramen for, and she quotes, "kicking his ass in their spar." She's quick to offer a cheerful Yamato and grinning Kakashi a similar sentiment.

The night is pleasingly cool and cloudless. With Konoha's dim lights, Sakura can perfectly see the stars as she leisurely walks home. Just last night, Sakura had Ino over once again and they sat on the roof above her apartment looking at the stars while expressing their thoughts about the exams, their teammates, and life in general.

 _It's nice_ , Sakura thinks.  _To be able to talk to Ino like that again._

Sakura walks by the dango shop located midway to her apartment, backtracks, orders two sets, and starts eating the first set on the way home. She has a sweet tooth and is never ashamed of indulging in sweets. As she carries on to her apartment, Sakura spots something red at the corner of her eye and turns fully towards it. There's a boy sitting on one of the only two swings available at the faded park she passes a few times every day.

His red hair is bright and messy, but nowhere near as messy as Naruto's spiky disaster.

She doesn't know what compels her to take a step towards him. It could be that he makes the perfect picture of a lonely boy? It could be the way he's looking up at the moon as if it carries the answers to his life questions? Either way, Sakura veers off course and heads directly for him. The moment she sets foot on the grassy area of the park, his head snaps towards her.

 _Beautiful eyes_.

 _Terrifying_  follows after immediately when they lock with hers. His eyes are a unique shade. Green so pale, it could - perhaps - be mistaken as blue, but they stand out among the thick, black lining of his eyes. She struggles for a moment. Her brain is screaming at her to turn and run, but her heart demands she take a seat next to him. Sakura is a logical person and she quite literally throws logic out the window by sitting next to him.

"It's a lovely night," she states.

"You're foolish."

It's almost painfully blunt and sounds somewhat threating. Sakura merely hums as she pulls another stick of dango out of her bad, still working through the first set. "And why is that?"

"You've placed yourself in needless danger."

"Do you plan on attacking me?" She bites her lower lip nervously when he doesn't reply but remains to stare at her. Sakura tosses her empty stick back in her bag when an idea strikes her. She lifts up her bag and shakes it in his direction. "Do you want one?"

"What is it?"

His genuine curiosity floors her. It's a quick change from his hostile aura. She watches his eyes flicker between her face and the bag she's holding. There's caution in his eyes before it disappears completely and he tilts his head.

"Dango. It's a sweet. They're very good." When he doesn't even attempt to reach for the bag, Sakura pulls back, digs one out, and holds it out to him. She patiently waits for him to rage war against himself, his eyes filled with too many emotions - sometimes settling on caution or annoyance - before he reaches out and accepts the stick of sweets.

Her eyes widen when the tips of his fingers brush her hand.

_It's like being touched by a flame._

The boy doesn't immediately take a bite. No. He accesses the dango as if there's something more to it than just being consumed as a treat.

"You don't have these in Suna?" Sakura asks as she fishes out another stick for herself, though she nods towards the village symbol on the black strap over his chest. "That's a shame," she responds to his barely-there headshake. "They're really good." He takes a bites, chews, swallows, stares at the remaining dango in wonder, and then promptly eats the last two balls of deliciousness. It's almost cute how he frowns when they're gone. Sakura holds her hand out with a little smile. "Trade me?" And he does. Quickly.

For a bit, they sit there in silence. He is no longer focusing on the moon, but rather the sticky stick held in his hand, and she studies his side profile. He's probably her age, if not just a bit older, and has a lonely soul.

Her heart swells with empathy. "What's your name?"

"Gaara." It's still blunt, but she doesn't detect any underlying threat. "Sabaku no Gaara."

_Gaara of the Desert._

"Good evening, Gaara-san. My name is Sakura." She watches his eyes flicker to her hair before returning to her face. It's clear he's drawn the same conclusion everyone else has. "Do you look forward to the chunin exams?" His single nod encourages her to continue speaking. "I'll be taking them as well. With my team, I mean. I - "

"Why are you being kind to me?"

Sakura frowns. "Do I need a reason to be kind?"

Gaara frowns at her. Something dark flashes across his eyes, something hostile. "You - " He stops abruptly. His free hand flies to his head and grips his hair tightly. Surprise, quickly followed by worry, has Sakura getting up. She reaches towards him, touches his shoulder, and freezes when sand shoots out of nowhere and wraps around her wrist painfully. "Don't touch me," he all but snarls.

 _Remain calm._  She can hear her Kakashi's voice.

"Gaara-san, if you're in pain then I need to go get help - " The sand around her wrist tightens so much so that Sakura bites her lower lip to keep herself from whimpering.

"Do not touch me again." Gaara's eyes are filled with vicious anger. "Or I will kill you."

_What did I do wrong?_

Her wrist is flung towards her and he disappears in a wave of sand. The only evidence he was there in the first place is the single stick resting on his unmoving swing. Sakura rotates her wrist, wincing at the 'pop' it makes and picks up the abandoned stick. This boy - Gaara - just threatened to kill her out of nowhere.

She looks up at the moon.

"You may very well get your chance, Gaara-san."

_Who knows how the chunin exams will proceed..._

* * *

Shikamaru greets her along with his dad when she arrives at her apartment. Shikaku appears seconds away from falling asleep where he is leaning against the wall next to her door. Shikamaru, surprisingly, looks wide awake and far more alert. In fact, he seems worried and anxious. It's so unlike the Shikamaru she's used to.

"Do you know how to flare your chakra in case of an emergency?" Shikaku asks when she stops in front of them.

"Of course," she replies immediately. "It's one of the first things we learn at the Academy."

Shikaku nods; satisfied. "See, son? Sakura knows what to do. Stop your worrying."

Sakura watches Shikamaru roll his eyes. "Troublesome old man." His eyes scan Sakura from head-to-toe and back up before sighing. "There was a tense, brief spike of chakra not too long ago and we just happened to be nearby. The chakra was unfamiliar. Much too hostile."

_Not you._

She thinks of wild, bright red hair and cold, pale green eyes.

"I met a peculiar boy, but don't worry. He didn't harm me." In that moment, her wrist aches. "We're just...tense because of tomorrow. Which, by the way, are you ready?" Sakura puts her hands on her hips, nearly empty dango bag swaying with the movement.

It's clear Shikamaru doesn't fall for her subject change but drops it regardless.

"Yeah. Ino's been hounding me all day."

Sakura pulls out her key, unlocks the door, and steps inside. She's immediately followed by the other two. "She just wants you to be on your toes, Shika. There's nothing wrong with that. Can I get either of you anything to drink?"

There's a low whistle. "You need to pick up your living room, Sakura. If my mom were here, she'd throw the biggest fit."

"True." Shikaku takes a seat at her table. "And no thank you. I have a bottle of sake at home calling my name."

She sees Shikamaru roll his eyes. "I don't want anything either."

"Alrighty." She takes a seat in front of him. "Here to snoop then?"

"You worked things out with Ino? She slipped twice yesterday and called you 'Sakura.' She never does that."

"At least she's not bothering you about my situation anymore."

Shikamaru cracks his neck. "Speaking of situations, you didn't tell her what's really going on. I could tell by the way she talked yesterday and today."

Sakura shrugs. "I'm not ready to tell her everything. Ino and I have to rebuild our friendship from the ground up so I told her I was looking for independence. She believed me and I trust you both to keep it a secret."

"I haven't mentioned it to anyone. Apartment information is strictly handled by me and a select few members of the Nara clan," Shikaku replies, head propped up by his hand. "Only the Hokage can order such information off me but even then I won't hand it over without a justifiable reason."

She smiles. "I appreciate it, Shikaku-san."

"Mah mah, no worries." He waves her off. "Think nothing of it."

"So, everything starts tomorrow. That makes us enemies." She leans forward, grinning at Shikamaru. "For the duration of the exams, of course."

He grins, lazy and with a lot of teeth. "Ino says she wants to face you in the exams. Rivals?"

"Of course. For us, that is. Between you and me, however, we're just enemies."

"For the duration of the exams, of course."

"Of course."

* * *

"Where is Naruto?" Sakura asks when she meets up with Sasuke. "He was supposed to be here with you." She hands his a clear water bottle with lemon slices and strawberries in it.

"I don't no - "

"Would you stop following me?!" The voice clearly belongs to Naruto.

"Come on, boss! You promised to play ninja with us today!" The squeaky, prepubescent voice that follows has Sakura and Sasuke share a confused look.

_Play ninja? What the hell?_

"What has the idiot gotten himself into this time?" Sasuke asks as they start making their way towards the yelling.

Sakura sighs. "Be nice, Sasuke-kun. Naruto probably just forgot about a few things. Training this past month has been hectic."

"Tch. Whatever."

She playfully bumps her shoulder against his before picking up her pace when Naruto's yelling grows louder, much more annoyed. They come across a hilarious sight of Naruto being dog-piled by three younger kids. He's squirming and shouting but Sakura knows that if Naruto really wanted them off, he could make them get off. She can see equal parts laughter and annoyance in Naruto's stunning blue eyes.

"Oi!" Naruto notices them right away. "Bastard! Sakura-chan! Help me!"

"You're a bad shinobi if you can't even handle three kids," Sasuke replies before Sakura can so much as suck in the air to speak. "So much for training."

That has Naruto up in half a second, the three kids on the ground in a heap. "Say that to my face!" He raises a fist threateningly.

As the kids get up one-by-one, Sakura immediately recognizes the grandson of their current Hokage.

_How does Naruto know him? Any of them?_

"What's your name?" She calls out to them while Sasuke and Naruto fall into their typical insult-exchange.

"My name is Moegi," the girl with bright orange hair replies. "Pleased to meet you." She curtsies politely.

Sakura feels herself smile.

"I'm Udon," the other boy replies, his voice in a nasally drawl. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Lord Third's grandson steps in front of them and poses dramatically. "And I'm Konohamaru! Together, we are team Konohamaru!" Moegi and Udon quickly fall in line to pose with him.

 _Cute_ , she thinks.

"Hey, boss!" Konohamaru calls out to Naruto, leering. "Is this pink-haired babe your girlfriend?"

_Nevermind. He's a brat._

Sakura turns to a frozen Naruto and smirking Sasuke. "Well?" She places her hands on her hips. "Am I, the 'pink-haired babe,' your girlfriend, Naruto?" Sakura bites her lower lip to keep a straight face when Naruto pales dramatically. "Well?"

"Um, no?"

She smiles brightly. "Good answer." She turns to Konohamaru and his friends. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to meet up with our sensei." And they do, two hours later. They find Kakashi leaning against Team Seven's favorite tree in Ground 3, orange book out, an air of indifference surrounding him while Yamato - and Sakura waves when she sees him - greets them politely, smile large and encouraging.

"Are you excited?"

Sakura nods. "Oh, yes."

Sasuke grunts.

Naruto loudly proclaims Team Seven as the "greatest of shinobi" and that they won't lose. "Believe it!"

"I was wondering when you three would show up," Kakashi calls out in a bored drawl. "Considering you need to fill out these," he pulls a stack of papers on of his hip pouch, "and turn them in by noon...which, coincidently, is in about 15 minutes."

"What?!" Naruto yells.

"And neither of you could mention this - I don't know - weeks ago?!" Sasuke snaps as he snatches the sheets out of Kakashi's hand and passes them to Naruto and Sakura.

"We just want you three on your toes," Yamato laughs. "But if you need someone to blame, blame your sensei." He hands out pencils.

Sakura snorts. "You're an honorary sensei so we get to blame you just as much." She helps Naruto fill out his information.

"You have seven minutes to turn them in at the front of the T&I building and then the exams begin at 1 PM. Now, run along~" Kakashi waves them off.

"Kakashi-sensei! Yamato-sensei!" Naruto howls as Sasuke manhandles Naruto towards the direction they need to head. "You're both jerks!"

"Times ticking!" Yamato calls out in a sing-song voice. "Better hurry~"

Sakura silently agrees with Sasuke's mumbled "assholes" and hopes they make it on time -

\- and they do. They're greeted but a familiar face - familiar to Sakura, that is. Ino's dad offers a small smile when his eyes connect with Sakura. Long, dirty blonde hair tied back in a ponytail swings behind him with ease. Beautiful, really.

"Hello, Sakura-chan!" He nods to Sasuke and Naruto. "You three made it just in time. Forms, please."

Elbowing a still cursing Naruto forward, Sakura places her sheet on the desk in front of Inoichi and slides the paper forward. Sasuke is quick to do the same and practically ripes Naruto's form out of his hand to place on the table. Naruto glares and but, thankfully, falls silent as the forms are looked over. A breath of relief exits Sakura when Ino's dad nods approvingly.

"It all seems to be in order. Return here within an hour."

Simultaneously, Sakura and Sasuke force Naruto to bow. "Thank you, sir."

"Good luck," he replies.

_His smile is still kind, even after everything Ino and I went through. I wonder if he knows..._

Sakura shakes her head as she walks off with her teammates. She and Ino can be friends and rivals. Sasuke and Naruto are friends and rivals so it only makes sense, in some cases, that she and Ino are similar. The only difference, this time around, is that there's no Sasuke between. True, her feelings have taken the backburner, but that's due to the fact that she's getting to know Sasuke on a personal level. Who knows what will become of -

\- "Sakura-chan! Stop spacing out!"

Her lips twitch in irritation.

_Why is he so loud? I'm right here._

"Stop shouting, idiot. She's two feet away from you." Sasuke doesn't hesitate to slap a hand over Naruto's mouth when he sucks in a deep breath. "We have roughly an hour. What do we do?"

"Ra - mehhfh!" Naruto starts clawing at Sasuke's hand, but Sasuke remains unimpressed.

"What do you think, Sakura?"

She taps her chin. "I want dango."

And Sasuke sighs. "What is with you and sweets?"

"You've only been to the dango shop with me twice, Sasuke-kun. That's hardly anything to complain about."

"You buy, like, five sets."

Sakura shrugs, smile wide. "And?"

He sighs, ready to reply, but yanks his hand away from Naruto, disgust, and anger, evident on his face and by the way he's fiercely wiping his palm against his shirt Sakura scrunches her nose knowing exactly what Naruto just did.

"That's gross, Naruto."

Naruto huffs. "You're both terrible teammates! I want new teammates!"

"Then you'd have to wait until winter to even attempt being promoted to chunin."

"That's if he can find a team that can handle his ridiculous personality."

 _Oh, boy._ Sakura sighs in frustration.  _Just like them to get into an argument right before the exams. Though, it's partially my fault for not helping Naruto_  - She freezes. Familiar dark chakra pulses around the area. She no longer hears her boys arguing. A flash of red out of the corner of her eye has her spinning around. Up on the roof, she sees him.

He looks exactly the same as the night before. Vibrant red hair and unique green eyes, he stares at her unblinking.

"Who is that?" She hears Sasuke ask.

"Don't know," Naruto replies.

Sakura tilts her head in acknowledgment, offers a little wave, and turns her back to him. Without speaking, she hooks arm with Naruto and Sasuke and starts dragging them towards the dango shop, all the while ignoring their questions and concerns. And all the while, she feels Gaara's eyes on her. It sends a shiver down her spine.

"Who is he?!" Sasuke demands to know once they're outside of the dango shop. "How do you know him?!"

Something about Sasuke's tone really irritates her. Sakura ignores him and walks in, knowing Sasuke won't cause a scene. Naruto, on the other hand, keeps pressing but his questions are more concern related.

"He seems scary, Sakura-chan! How do you know him? His chakra was crazy!"

She's quick to order and, as she waits, Sasuke stands in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You could ask me nicer, Sasuke-kun." He blinks, surprised. Sakura shrugs but gives him a reply anyway. "I met him last night and we shared some dango together. That's all." The 'you're not getting more than that' goes unspoken.

Sasuke sort of deflates after that. "Just," he pauses to sigh, clearly still frustrated, "be careful."

Naruto looks back and forth between them but shrugging. "If he didn't hurt you, then I have no problem."

"Glad for your approval." Sakura absently rubs her semi-bruised covered wrist. Her outfit today is simple, modest, and more serious. No bright colors. No unnecessary skin showing. She opted for long, black fitted pants with bandages wrapped around one thigh and a simple black hoodie. Along with her hair pulled back in a loose braid and her hip and thigh pouched situated, she feels official.

"Your dango is ready, miss."

She accepts it and holds out one stick to each of her teammates. "Enjoy. Who knows when we'll be able to do this again."

And so they sit there in silence, each chewing on their dango thoughtfully, the tension bleeding out of them when the last stick is empty. Sakura collects the sticks silently and throws them, and the bag, away in the trash bin outside of the dango shop.

"We should probably head back and just wait," Sasuke says after a moment of awkward silence.

"Sounds good."

"Okie dokie."

Approaching the T&I building, Sakura once again feels as if she's being watched. There's no hostile chakra this time but she can't help but scratch her hand nervously. Her brain screams Gaara's name. She's convined he's watching her. Like a predator. Even if he doesn't outright attack her now, there's no telling what will become of her once the exams are in motion.

"Boss!"

Sakura groans right along with Naruto.

"Konohamaru! I'm about to do serious ninja stuff. I can't have you bothering me!"

"Whatever!" Konohamaru pulls a kunai out of his small hip pouch and holds it up in a defensive manner. "You'll have to get through me first!"

"Just push him over," Sasuke mumbles. "He's small enough."

Konohamaru darts forward, with the intention to stab Naruto's thigh, but Naruto only glides to the left. Konohamaru trips on his long scarf and tumbles to the ground, groaning in pain. "Owie."

"Konohamaru, go home!"

Sakura hears Sasuke snort. "Deal with this quickly, idiot. We're wasting time."

Konohamaru sniffles. "Whatever! We didn't want to play with you losers anyway!" He, along with his friends, take off in the direction Team Seven is heading and disappear from sight in a matter of sloppy ninja dashes.

"Let's just keep going," Sakura sighs.

* * *

The scene they come upon immediately sets Sakura on guard. She feels Naruto tense right next to her and sees Sasuke grab Naruto's wrist before he does something like rush in and challenge the boy gripping Konohamaru by his scarf, dangling him in the air like he's nothing. There's a girl next to the boy, sandy blonde hair sectioned in four spiky pigtails. She's attempting to defuse the situation it seems but isn't having much luck.

"Just put him down," the girl snaps.

The boy gives Konohamaru a rough shake. "No! I want an apology, brat."

"Sasuke!" Naruto actually hisses. "Let me go. I need to help Konohamaru!"

But Sasuke on shakes his head. "And let you cause a scene that could get us in trouble? I don't think so. You piss people off to quickly."

Upon closer inspection, Sakura notices the Sand symbol on the girl's forehead protector tied around her neck. An idea strikes her.

"I would release him if I were you," Sakura calls out.

The boy and girl twist towards Sakura, both very annoyed. "And why is that, pinky?"

Sakura cocks an eyebrow. There's nothing impressive about this boy's attempt to seem intimidating. "You currently have the Third Hokage's grandson dangling from your grasp and if something were to happen to him and you, being a foreign shinobi in our village, is as fault for it," Sakura pauses, smiling, "it could cause a scandal. We don't want that, right? Especially not before the chunin exams. This would reflect poorly on your village."

"Kankuro, drop him!"

The boy - Kankuro - drops Konohamaru like he's on fire. "Shit! Gaara won't be happy about this - "

Sakura doesn't have the time to even think a coherent thought when the air grows tense. Konohamaru, who had been close to crying, dashes to hide between Naruto and Sasuke with his two friends. "Kankuro, what do you think you're doing?" She sees him before anyone else does. He's standing on the underside of a branch in a tree off to the side. Looking at his upside-down form, Sakura sees that Gaara is far more than annoyed. There's something vicious in his eyes that has Sakura on the edge.

"This b-brat ran into me a-and I want t-to teach him a lesson on m-manners and - "

"Shut up before I kill you."

Eyes going wide, Sakura licks her lips nervously.

_Surely he wouldn't?_

Then Gaara's gaze falls to her. In a swirl of sand, he disappears from the tree and appears several feet directly in front of her.

"Sakura," he acknowledges as if he didn't just threaten to kill his teammate? ally? and stares at her with a blank expression. "You are taking the chunin exams." It's a direct statement. A fact. She wonders if he paid attention to her appearance last night. She did have her forehead protector on.

"G-Gaara, how do you know this girl?" But neither Gaara nor Sakura looks towards the other girl.

"Your teammates, Gaara-san?" Sakura inclines her head towards the visibly shocked Sand nin.

He nods. "Yours?" He briefly looks pass her.

"Yup."

He only hums before turning on his heel. "We're leaving." Kankuro immediately follows right after Gaara with the girl tailing them. Both are casting Sakura anxious looks over their shoulders.

When they're out of sight, Sakura hears Sasuke exhale sharply. "What the hell just happened?"

"Um, diffusing a bad situation?" Sakura offers before turning to Team Konohamaru. "Go home," she orders. "I'm not joking. What if we didn't show up? You could have been seriously hurt or worse."

With teary eyes, Konohamaru nods and, with a sniffle, he mumbles, "See you later, boss."

"Now that that's done, let's get going. I refuse to be late." Sakura marches forward without another word and Sasuke and Naruto follow after her silently, still trying to grasp what just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sakura has met Gaara, you get some more worried Shikamaru and concerned Team Seven, and the chunin exams are about to begin~ If you have the time, please review.


	9. Chapter Seven - Part Two

**Chapter Seven - Part Two**

_You can train as hard as ever,_

_But your growth means little,_

_Until you're tasked with a challenge._

They enter the building to find a few scattered groups. Sakura walks forward, curious, and not paying attention to where she is going exactly. She bumps into someone hard enough to send her to the floor. Only, she doesn't hit the floor. A hand has her by the wrist. Sakura blinks rapidly before her eyes land on the hand holding her up. Her gaze trails up until she's staring into incredibly pale eyes.

"Forgive me," she states immediately to the person - a boy, a  _Hyuga_  - who makes sure she's upright before letting her go. "I should have paid attention to where I was going."

"It's alright." His voice is low.  _Smooth_. He clearly looks at her forehead protector. "You're participating." It's as if he's speaking about the weather.

Sakura nods. "My team and I intend to succeed." She turns to point at her  _glaring_  teammates. "We will not fail." It's ended with a smile directed at the boy.

Humor reflects in his eyes. "Confidence may be your undoing."

"Or it may lead us to success," she counters easily. "Won't know until we try." Sakura shrugs easily.

"What is your name?"

"Haruno Sakura."

The boy silently takes her hand and presses a kiss on to the back it. "Hyuga Neji. Pleased to meet you." The boy - Neji - lets go of her hand right after and takes a few steps back. "Good luck in the exam, Sakura-san." His gaze flickers over her shoulder briefly. "And to your teammates."

Keeping her voice at ease, Sakura smiles. "And to you, Neji-san. As well as your teammates."

They part ways after that. Sakura turns back to her teammates while Neji walks away. Naruto and Sasuke are still glaring at the boy. Sasuke is gritting his teeth as if to keep himself from snapping and Naruto has his fists clenched. Sakura rolls her eyes and walks forward. She takes one hand each and shakes them.

"Stay focused. He was just being polite. I did bump into him accidentally after all."

"I don't like him," Naruto replies the moment she's done speaking. Sasuke nods once. "He looks like an asshole."

"Because judging someone by appearance always ends well," Sakura states sarcastically. "Because that's fair." She sighs in annoyance. "Let's just head to the exam room, okay?" Still holding onto their hands, she walks them towards the exam room where a gathering of participants is arguing with two boys in front of a room.

Some genin in a green jumpsuit is knocked to the ground. A girl with her hair twisted up in two buns helps the genin up. Sakura assumes them to be teammates. The two boys laugh at the beat up genin and start throwing insults at the gathered people. Many of them stating that none of them were prepared or going to pass. That they should just get up and go home.

_Something feels off about this._

Sakura's eyes widen. She barely turns her head towards Sasuke. "Genjutsu." Sasuke nods subtly. "This is a trick," Sakura whispers to a confused Naruto. "To test us. We're still on the first floor despite what the room number says. The exam is likely on the second floor but we actually need to go upstairs. We need to go there right now." She glances back at the group and connects with familiar dark brown eyes.

Shikamaru regards her silently. Sakura nods towards the stairs ahead of them. She sees familiar blonde hair after that. A moment later, and Team Ten is standing with Team Seven.

"Let's head up to the second floor."

"We're on the second floor," Ino whispers.

Shaking her head, Sakura nods towards the stairs. "Genjutsu. I'm not breaking it. Those without the ability to break something so easy shouldn't be participating anyway." That small jab does the trick. Ino's lips twist into a small frown. "Follow us or don't. The choice is yours but I thought you wanted to fight me or something."

She starts leading a snickering Naruto and smirking Sasuke away. Shouts for the six of them to stop go ignored. As she said, those who cannot see past a genin-level genjutsu should not participate.

* * *

Sakura wants to slap a hand to her forehead for Naruto's dramatic announcement. Sasuke looks ready to throttle their boisterous teammate - not that she blames him because Naruto wouldn't know subtle if it were to smack him in the face - but is barely refraining from doing so. Naruto draws the attention, and killing intent, from nearly every participant in the room.

"Wow. You're still loud as hell." This is followed by a high pitched bark.

Naruto raises a fist. "What was thought, asshole?! Talk shit, get hit!"

Kiba's cocky grin causes Sakura to roll her eyes. "Honestly, boys."

"H-Hello, Naruto-kun." A gentle voice speaks up. "I h-hope y-you do well in the e-exams."

Sakura smiles. "They're too busy being silly," she steps up to a blushing Hinata as Naruto and Kiba get into each other's face while Sasuke and Shikamaru and Shino are attempting to break them apart with reassurances that they can beat the crap out of each during the exams at one point. "How have you been Hinata-san?"

During her entire time at the Academy, Sakura has only spoken to the other girl twice. Once to borrow the notes taken during a class she was absent too and to say "thank you" when returning said notes. It's a shame. Hinata has always given off the aura of a sweet girl.

"F-Fine, Sakura-san. Um, a-are you read f-for the exams?"

"Hell. Yes." Hinata smiles a little at Sakura language and tone. "Training has been killer for the entire month and I'm hoping it pays off during the exams. What about you? How has training been?"

Hinata shifts, but holds her head a little higher. "G-Good. Really g-good. M t-taijutsu is much b-better now."

"Mine too!" Sakura exclaims happily. "Kakashi-sensei had us running laps early every morning and hitting the gym. My muscles are bigger but it's well worth it. I've physically gotten stronger - "

"Say that to my face!" Naruto's yell cuts Sakura off.

By now, Shino and Shikamaru are holding Kiba back while Sasuke is trying to push Naruto away.

"Not even Konoha's shinobi can get along. How  _sad_." Said Konoha shinobi freeze at the disrespectful tone. A boy with the majority of his face covered in bandages, one single eye visible, steps forward. "Good. This makes things easier. You'll be busy killing each other while we succeed where you can't."

"Or maybe we're luring you into a false sense of security." Sakura doesn't know what compels her to speak, but she is now under the attention of this boy, his teammates, and the surrounding teams.  _Foot, meet mouth._  "You are in foreign territory." She repeats Neji's words from earlier. "Confidence may be your undoing."

"That's what you think, pinkie." A boy with spiky dark blue hair steps forward, lips twisted into a gleeful smile.

Sakura cocks an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Correction. It's what I know." The boy's smile takes a creepier edge, but Sakura remains unimpressed.

"We'll see." The boy deliberately licks his lips, gaze trailing over Sakura from head-to-toe and back up.

"Back up." Ino is standing before Sakura in an instant. "Keep your eyes above the shoulders, nasty."

Before the boy can reply, someone bumps into Sakura from behind. "Oof! I'm terribly sorry." She turns around to see a teen - or maybe a man - on the ground. Sakura reaches down to pick up his glasses.

"It's okay. Let me help you up." She offers a hand to the boy and yanks him up when he takes it. The glasses are handed over immediately. "There you go."

"Thank you kindly, miss."

Sakura is about to reply when a gust of strong wind sweeps through the room. Sakura squints and then sees them at the front of the large room. More than 20 jounin with a large man standing in the center. His scars fascinate Sakura somewhat, but besides that, she feels very  _calm_.

"Listen up," the man's voice booms across the room, bouncing off the walls. "My name is Morino Ibiki and I will proctor this first section of the chunin exams. The moment you take a seat, the exams will officially begin. Your life depends on this decision. If you want to quit, now's the time. This is not a joke. This exam can, and will, for many of you, be a matter of life and death. The next exam is in December of this year. You may choose to wait and participate in that one."

At this, a few genin chicken out. Sakura looks away in disgust.

_Cowards._

"Is that everyone?" He pulls a sheet of paper out of his inner coat pocket. "You are to take your seats now. No teammates may sit in the same row."

Sakura turns to Naruto - who is now standing next to Sasuke - and Sasuke and offers them an encouraging smile before following after Ino to take a seat on one of the lower rows.

"This exam is to test your knowledge. I hope you've prepared." Sakura freezes. Her thoughts fall to Naruto. She can practically feel his nervousness from her seat.

_Oh, Naruto._

"I and a few of the jounin with me will pass out the exam. Do not flip them over until I say 'begin.' Those who do so will be immediately disqualified for not being able to follow a simple order." Ibiki and some jounin move to place one exam, face down, in front of each participant. "You will have 45 minutes to answer nine questions. At the 45 minute mark, I will give you the tenth question. Should be simple enough."

Sakura knows what she must do in order to aid Naruto. Something that she and Yamato dedicated countless days too.

"Alright." She tenses. "Ready? Begin!"

The sounds of papers being flipped followed by groans of despair fill the exam room. Sakura reads over the questions, amazed by how  _simple_  they are in her opinion. She starts answering the questions slowly, surely, while concentrating chakra through her other hand - pressed flat against the table - in thin lines. She can only hope that Naruto doesn't react poorly. Sasuke paid attention in class so he should be fine for this part.

Then the nervous tapping of Ino's pencil begins.

 _She was a top student_ , Sakura thinks.  _And she's having trouble already?_  She hesitates.  _Helping Ino wouldn't be so bad, right?_  Ultimately, Sakura decides to help her rival. Pencil steadily moving across the paper, Sakura continues to answer questions with ease. She hears Ino's breathing pattern change and dips her head over her test to hide her smile.

The minutes tick by and Sakura continues to help both her friends. She feels as though she is the first one done when she casually flips her exam over to indicate it's completion and lays her head down on her arms. Several pairs of eyes are on her in an instant, but Sakura is not deterred in the slightest. She sees Ino relax in her seat through her curtain of pink hair.

"Alright! Stop!"

Groans are the only answer.

"Important information in your hands," Ibiki begins, "can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and the village. Because, in times of need, that information is the most important thing, more important than your life, and on missions, you and your comrades will risk your lives to obtain it. Now," he moves to stand before the entire room, "this tenth question will determine whether or not you advance to the next stage of the exams."

Protests erupt across the room.

"Shut the hell up!" Ibiki yells, clearly agitated. "You have a choice. I am giving you the opportunity to leave and try again in the fall, but keep this is mind," he pauses dramatically, "if you opt to answer the question and get it wrong, you and your team will never be allowed to take the exams again. Choose wisely."

It's like watching a dam break. Several teams get up and walk out.

Someone slams their hand down on the table. "Are you kidding me?!" Sakura pivots in her seat to look up at Naruto with wide eyes, but he doesn't look ready to give up. No. He looks angry. "Me and my teammates aren't cowards. There's no way in hell I'd let either of them walk out when we worked so hard to be here."

Sakura slaps her hand on the table. "Damn straight!" She gives Naruto the peace sign.

"Give us the damn question," Sasuke demands when the silence carries. "As you can see, neither of my teammates are walking away."

This prompts several other teams - mostly Konoha - to voice their determination as well. The grin that appears on Ibiki's face is almost crazy. "You kids got spunk. You pass."

Silence.

"What the hell?!" Naruto's second outburst has Sakura sighing.

"The ability to be courageous and survive any hardship. These are the abilities needed to become a chūnin. Those who can't put their destinies on the line, who cling to the uncertain future of "there's always next year," and walk away from their chance…those pieces of trash who can only make such cowardly choices do not deserve to become chūnin! If you're still here, there's hope for you yet!"

As soon as he's done speaking, someone comes crashing through the only window in the room. A woman, in a full-body fishnet suit, complete with tan jacket, stands before them with a grin so wide, it's almost maniacal.

"Listen up, you little shits. I'm Mitarashi Anko and I'm the proctor of the second part of the chunin exams. Gather up your teammates and follow me."

"Where are we going?" A genin calls out.

Her lips twist into a sadistic smirk. "You'll see."

* * *

Ibiki stares at the text in his hands. Every single answer is correct; written in an almost lazy fashion. The test belongs to a one; Haruno Sakura, the only person he has ever seen with pink hair.

"Izumo!"

Blowing his hair out of his eyes, Izumo flashes in front of him. "Yes?"

"You were the closest to Haruno. How many times did she cheat?"

"None."

This catches the attention of every person in the room.

"None?"

Izumo nods. "She answered each question with practiced ease. Academy records indicate that, academic-wise, she was a top student. She did, however, aid one of her teammates and the Yamanaka sitting next to her."

"How?" Kotetsu steps forward, frowning. "She gave no obvious signs."

"Wood-based manipulation. The answers appeared in small writing next to both participants. It is the only reason Uzumaki and Yamanaka passed the exam with flying colors."

"They're Kakashi's kids," another man throws in. "What did you expect? We've all seen the training regimen those kids have been on for over a month. 4 AM to 10 PM."

Ibiki hums while looking down at the exam.

"The participants this year have been the most interesting we've seen in a while. Let's see where this goes."

* * *

_Hello, darkness, my old friend._

"It's still scary to look at," Naruto shivers. "I can't believe we have to go through this again."

Sasuke snorts. "At least we have an advantage over most, if not all, the other participants." It's said in a hushed voice. "Don't be so loud, idiot. We're technically not supposed to know about this."

"Right. Sorry."

Sakura shares a surprised look with Sasuke. "Are you feeling okay, Naruto?"

Naruto grins. "I just can't get over Sasuke calling us his teammates. It's the first time he's done it, ya' know?"

At this, Sakura giggles behind her hand. "Oh, well, you have a point there~"

"Sasuke loves us," Naruto sing-songs while throwing an arm over Sasuke's shoulder. "He loves us so much."

"You're both being annoying right now."

Sakura shrugs easily, smiling along with Naruto. "What else is new, Sasuke-kun? It's almost like an affectionate nickname or something. Maybe you really do love us? Maybe Naruto is right?"

But Sasuke only rolls his eyes.

"He's not denying it, Naruto," Sakura stage whispers. "So it must be true."

Naruto nods in mock-seriousness. "It's completely true."

"Tch. Whatever. Let's move up so we can hear better."

Sakura laughs. "Concentrate chakra into your ears, silly. We learned this two weeks ago. Anko-san is going through the 'rules' right now. Maiming and killing are permitted in this section. Each team gets a scroll, Heaven or Earth, and we must get the opposite scroll to use them together. We have five days to accomplish this and make it to the tower in the center. We're not automatically disqualified if we lose our scroll for the remaining time can be used to gain it back plus the scroll needed."

"We need to devise a plan," Sasuke states immediately. "Call over Nara. We'll work together."

"There's very straightforward, Sasuke-kun." But nevertheless, Sakura calls over Shikamaru and he walks over with his team. "Let's work together for this duration of the exam."

Shikamaru nods slowly. "Power in numbers but I doubt we'll be the only group forming an alliance."

"No," Sakura says slowly, "but we," she motions to herself and her teammates, "have an advantage over most."

Ino steps forward and, with a quiet voice, she asks, "And what's that?"

"Kakashi-sensei dropped us in here a little while back so - "

" - so you know the area?" Shikamaru interrupts.

Naruto leans in while shaking his head. "No. That's just it. The area is always changing. The trees, the bushes, the leaves, never stay the same. They actively change and, most times, you don't even notice. We went in circles for hours before Sakura-chan figured out what was going on."

"The tower in the center of the forest isn't very big," Sasuke states bluntly. "But, climbing to the top of a tree will help because you can see the space in the center of the forest where the tower is even if you can't see the tower it's self."

"What a drag." Shikamaru picks at his ear. "Then the plan is simple. We work together and ambush a team and take their scroll. We keep doing this until both teams have one of each and then we stick to the top of the trees until we reach the tower."

"It sounds a lot more simple than it probably is."

Sakura turns to scan the other participants. "There's a couple of teams from Suna we can try. Even from our own village." She eyes Hinata's team and Neji's team, seeing the green-clad boy and bunbun girl from earlier standing with him.

"This might be fun after all," Ino cracks her knucks and grins. "Teamwork,  _for now_ , kicking each other's ass later."

"Works for me." Sakura returns her grin.

* * *

Both teams receive an Earth scroll which is a relief in Sakura's opinion because, while she does trust Shikamaru's team, the tension would double if one of them had a different one. Ino also voices this, mentioning not wanting to waste unnecessary energy fighting each other.

"That means we have to target two different teams."

"That's obvious, Naruto." Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "We need a plan. Ambushing a team, six-to-three will work to our benefit but we need to observe first."

Sakura cracks her knuckles. "Alright. Let's get going, guys. I have an itch that needs to be scratched." She moves passed an openly surprised Naruto and reserved surprised Sasuke.

"Who are you and what happened to Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked slowly.

She smiles wickedly. "Let's not let our training go to waste, right? Don't you want to fight someone, Naruto? We'll have to anyway. No one is just going to hand over their scroll and we need two Heaven scrolls."

Naruto's eyes widen. "Y-Yes, of course. Sakura-chan is right!"

They travel together closely. Sasuke and Ino take the front, Sakura and Shikamaru remain in the middle, and Naruto and Choji take the rear. Obtaining a Heaven scroll is hilariously -  _pathetically_  - easy that Sakura doesn't know whether to be angry and demand a re-do or just alleviate her anger on the next unsuspecting team.

"I gotta' take a piss!" Naruto yells. "Be back in a minute!"

"Stop!" Sasuke motions for all of them to form a circle. "We need a password to make sure we are who we say we are."

Shikamaru nods. "Smart. Here's a simple one." As he carefully repeats the words a few times, the others nod. Naruto bites his lip but doesn't comment. A collected sigh passes over the group as Naruto darts for the thick trees.

"He's gonna' make us a target," Ino hisses. "He's too damn loud!"

Sakura shrugs helplessly. "He's Naruto."

A few minutes pass and then Naruto is back. "Hey, guys." At once, Sasuke and Sakura pull out a kunai.

"Password?" Sasuke demands.

"Oh, of course."

Each word is recited perfectly. Gritting her teeth, Sakura sends her kunai at the imposter. "Where the hell is Naruto, you son of a bitch?!" They dodge.

"What the hell, Sakura-chan?! It's me!"

Sasuke tenses. "There's no way Naruto would have remembered that."

The imposter chuckles. "Looks like you aren't so easily fooled after all." A large poof of smoke appears and then a woman of Sound appears on a fallen tree. She pulls out a Heaven scroll. "You want this, right? Come and get it~" And then she swallows it.

"What the hell?!" Sakura hears Ino say. "What are you?!"

"That, my dear, is a good question." The woman grins, eyes widening in an almost impossible way.

And then it happens. Blood. Kunai to the forehead. Sakura hears several sharp intakes around her, but she can't move. She can't move. A cold, slippery sensation crawls up her body. She's frozen, trembling.  _Is this what true killing intent is?_  She shakes and shakes.  _It's not real. I can survive this._  Sakura tries her best to look at Sasuke, eyes zooming in on the kunai in his hands.  _That could work._  Sakura feels sick but forces her hand to move towards her hip pouch.

She feels an explosive tag slip between her fingers.

_Save them!_

The explosive tag slips out of her fingers, drifting away in the wind.

_Now!_

"Move," the strangled yell of Shikamaru yells over the explosion. Sakura feels someone tackle her out of the way. Her back slams into the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

"Clever, little girl. But not clever enough."

A horrifying fight breaks out after that.

* * *

The moment Sakura sees the woman sink her teeth into Sasuke's neck, she is overcome by a terrific rage. None of her weapons had worked, her earth-based jutsu have been reduced to nothing more than broken branches and dirty, and half her body is covered in bruises.

They aren't fairing well. Ino is out cold. Choji is barely moving. Shikamaru stands over Sasuke, not knowing what to do. His shadow jutsu can't catch the Sound woman - she moves too fast - and his left thumb is dislocated. Sakura summons her naginata.

"Watch him," Sakura hisses as she moves forward. "If I die, you need to try and get them out of here."

"Sakura," she can feel Shikamaru's shocked gaze on her back. "Sakura, that person is beyond genin. Maybe beyond jounin. There's no way - "

Sakura makes a symbol behind her back. "Just watch. Get Ino and Choji over to you guys."

The woman grins. "What are you going to do, little girl?"

"What is necessary."

_I'm going to die, but that's okay if the others are safe._

They clash. Sakura moves as fast as she can, dodging every other attack sent her way. There's a steady line of blood trailing down her temple and across her collarbone. The woman laughs joyously every time she hits Sakura, creating a new bruise easily.

"Little girl, you're going to die."

Sakura smiles. "No. Not today." In a gather of energy, she flashsteps to her teammate and comrades. "I want us to live a little longer." In a bang of white light, they're gone.

The woman's eyes narrow. "Clever, little girl." She's gone moments later.

* * *

"I need to find Naruto."

Shikamaru shoves her to her bottom again. "No." It's stern and angry. "You can't see yourself right now, Sakura, but you look like you went a few rounds with a tree  _and lost_."

"Thanks. That's something every kunoichi wants to hear." Sakura shoves his hand away and gets up. "Naruto is my teammate, Shikamaru. I have an obligation to my teammates."

"And what of your comrades?! Of you teammate right here?!" Shikamaru counters. "Look at Sasuke. He's out cold and running a fever. Who knows when Ino will wake?! Naruto may be a knucklehead, but he's determined. He'll find his way back to us."

Sakura stares down at him, but Shikamaru is right. Sasuke needs her and Naruto will be okay - but that doesn't mean she likes the idea of him being alone in the forest. "I worry."

Shikamaru sighs. "I know, but you're needed here."

"Okay," she nods; reluctantly. "Okay. You're right."

_Find us, Naruto._

* * *

_Kakashi rubs a hand over his face. "I'm going to teach you three something that could save your life. It's advanced. Most people who learn this have been chunin for at least half a year. Given that this year's participants are a_ unique _bunch, I'm going to teach it to you anyway."_

_"And what's that, sensei?"_

_"Teleportation jutsu. Single and group-based."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Things are heating up! The situation with Orochimaru will be addressed next chapter. If you have the time, please review.


	10. Chapter Eight - Part One

**Chapter Warning:** Brief mention of groping.

* * *

**Chapter Eight - Part One**

_We made it out alive,_

_but at what cost?_

_We may never know._

Their luck runs out quickly. In an attempt to leave to gather water, Sakura is stopped in her tracks by a kunai with an explosive tag. She barely has a moment to think before she's throwing herself over the nearest body to protect them. Pain races over her back, but she doesn't spare that another thought. A groan from Shikamaru indicates that he's still alive. One from Choji rolls over.

"Come out, come out." It's said in a sickly sweet voice. "Come out, pinkie." Sakura recognizes the voice; a low growl escapes past her lips. "Pinkie, I'm not playing games~ You can come out or we can come in." There's a pause followed by laughter. The implication is not lost on her.

 _Disgusting, vile creature_.

"We c-can't stay in here," Shikamaru grunts. "It'll have to be the three of us against the three of them." Sakura slowly rises off the body she managed to cover. Sasuke's sweaty shirt is clinging to his body, pale skin shuttering with each shaky breath he takes.

"We set up traps."

Sakura spits at the ground, getting rid of the dirt that managed to enter. "Let's put them to use." She pulls out her summoning scroll knowing that her naginata will be of some use in this situation. Hopefully. She sees Choji gulp, eyes firmly on her hands as the small puff of smoke takes place and her weapon is ready in her hand. "If we work together, we'' be okay." Sakura is firm in her belief. "Follow our lead."

And the three of them walk out from their hiding place.

"I'm a little disappointed," the cocky Sound nin from earlier in the day states. "I was hoping it'd only be her, but I guess you two would make good appetizers."

A gross feeling claims Sakura's skin, leaving her aching for water to shower. That's exactly what she plans to do after these guys are defeated. "Sorry to disappoint," she responds with a raised eyebrow. "But you know how it is, right? Being disappointed." Sakura sees the annoyed look Shikamaru sends her. Perhaps, if she were less angry, she would have responded better.

"I like a girl with fire." The Sound nin is cut by his female teammate.

"We're not doing this," she snaps before turning her eyes to Sakura. "We want your scroll, little girl. Give it to us now and we may let you live."

"Not happening," Shikamaru states. "Especially not when troublesome shinobi are involved."

Their oddly bandaged teammate steps forward. "Patience, Kin. Zaku might be on to something. There's something particular about this girl. Something familiar." A dangerous aura erupts from his person causing Sakura to barely repress a shiver.

 _He's probably the most dangerous_ , Sakura thinks as she eyes the machines around his wrists.  _What the hell are those things?!_

"Now that you mention it," the boy, Zaku, starts. "She does seem familiar..."

"You met me earlier today, asshole."

His eyes flash with amusement. "Of course, of course." Sakura bites back a snarl when his eyes roam over her body, leering as he did hours previously. "But your chakra seems familiar. Have we met before today?"

"I would never forget a nasty little creature like you," Sakura spits.

"Temper, temper."

Sakura tilts her head. "Allow me to show you true temper." She flips her naginata towards a barely seen wire and cuts it. Satisfaction fills her when a rain of kunai come upon the Sound nin at too fast a pace in every direction. The grunts and cries are like music to her ears.

"You clever little bitch," Zaku snarls. "I was going to be nicer about killing you, but you've royally pissed me off." He yanks the weapons out and drops them to the ground, glaring at Sakura as if she were the very bain of his existence. "Let's move," he snaps at his teammates.

"Now, Shikamaru!" Sakura yells. There's a grunt from her left followed by several explosions. She hears the female Sound nin scream, seeing through the smoke as the older girl is thrown backward. The briefest flicker of sympathy appears in the pit of Sakura's stomach when the girl doesn't get back up.

"Watch o - " She doesn't hear the rest of Shikamaru's warning when something like a large gust of wind slams into her, knocking the breath out of her. She goes flying.

When Sakura becomes aware of herself, she doesn't see Shikamaru or the other Sound nin. A sense of dread crawls over her skin when she realizes it's just her and the creep called Zaku. He's grinning at her, longer than average tongue licking his lips. Briefly, Sakura considers him as terrifying as the Sound nin she fought earlier.

That was a joke of a fight and she knows, deep in her heart, she got off easy.

"Just you and me, pinkie. No teammates or allies to protect you."

Sakura gets to her feet, dropping into a defensive position. "How unfortunate," she replies. "For you."

"Let's dance, girlie. I'm gonna' enjoy this." He moves for her, kunai aimed directly at her stomach. "Let's see how long you last." She leaps back, hands flying to perform the hand signs to create clones. One to distract, one to get behind him, and then there's her; using the distraction to disappear into the ground.

 _Yamato-sensei told me not to use this unless I was desperate_.  _I don't know how Shikamaru and Choji are, Naruto is still missing, and Sasuke and Ino are probably still out cold_. She senses his sudden stop, probably wondering where she went and that's when she moves to trap him. Arms appearing above the ground,  _her arms_ , she wraps them around his ankles and yanks as hard as she can.

His shocked cry sounds pleasing to her ears and she pulls and pulls until she feels it's safe enough. Slowly, like waking up from a bad dream, Sakura appears above the ground, standing over Zaku with a small, but triumphant grin. "What are you going to do now?"

"You're a dead one," he growls up at her. The ground trembles, barely, and Sakura fights back the urge to shudder. "When I'm out of here, I'll kill you."

Sakura stares down at him and, pushing chakra to her feet, she kicks him in the face as hard as she can. The crunch of his nose, the blood spilling over his upper lip, leaves her satisfied enough to turn and leap away. She counts herself somewhat lucky to have dealt with that quickly.

Moments like these are few and far between.

* * *

Shikamaru is bleeding from three wounds down the left side of his back, but he's conscious. The remaining male Sound nin, Dosu, if Sakura recalls correctly, is trapped in his shadow clone jutsu. Ino's form is slumped on the ground, not in the location she was left in. Choji is on the groud, unmoving. Sakura's glad to see his chest rise and fall steadily. Sasuke is still out cold despite the swirling dark purple and blue chakra over his form.

"You would attack your own teammate," the female Sound nin yells. "What the hell kind of bastard does that?" And that's when it hits Sakura. Ino has taken over the body of the female enemy. She glances at Ino's body, looking over it, and notices the thin trickle of bleed running down the corner of her mouth.

It's in the same exact place in the host body.

"You poor Konoha shinobi think too much of bonds," Dosu shakes his head. "Sound shinobi have no need to keep them. We are all tools in this world. Pawns that are moved and sacrificed in order to advance the queen. We take our orders seriously. Kin is but a mere pawn. She, like all others, can be replaced."

 _Disgusting_.

Sakura drops down behind Dosu, looking at Shikamaru over the boy's shoulder, and nods. Tip-tap. A startled gasp leaves Dosu and then he's slouching. A moment later and Shikamaru is releasing his jutsu. Sakura doesn't bother to catch the boy. He's an enemy.

"Let's tie them up," Sakura tells him. "Quickly. I don't know how long until the other guy - Zaku? - gets back."

"Make sure to tie them tight," Ino says, forcing the body she's controlling to lift up the unconscious boy.

Sakura pulls out both metal wire and rope from her hip pouch. "The wire is for their hands and ankles. The rope is for their arms." She's quick to use them on the boy, working around his awkward metal wrist covers, and makes sure they're biting into the skin tightly. His feet are easy to work with.

"I can take the pain," Ino tells her when she hesitates. "Knock her out the moment I release the jutsu." And Sakura does after hearing Ino cry "Release!" With both Sound shinobi bound and out in the open, Sakura moves past Ino and Shikamaru, sending a silent apology to Choji, and heads directly for Sasuke.

"You really think you can beat me so quickly, pinkie?"

A sudden chill takes over Sakura.

* * *

He has her by the hair and, with both her pouches ripped away from her, she has nothing to fight back with. Shikamaru is supporting a badly wounded Ino. Ino, her precious friend and rival, has taken great offense to the boy when he wrapped his arm around Sakura's neck, groping her with his free hand. Sakura's shaking.

But not from fear.

Anger has her trembling the way she does. Anger at being caught far too quickly after having dealt with him. Anger at herself for thinking things would look up if he was unable to escape the ground. There's nothing she can do now. Even with his teammates still out cold, Shikamaru doesn't have the energy to use his jutsu again and with Naruto still missing, she's stuck in this position.

"I'm going to beat you so hard, you'll end up begging me to end it." He tightens his grip on her hair. "I'm going to pull out this pretty hair handfull by handfull. I'm going to watch you bleed to death."

Pain flares in Sakura's shoulder, so ripe and shocking that her vision blurs for a moment. Her left hand is currently useless, broken fingers crushed under a steel heel. She jerks in his hold, a cry ripping from her throat. "You son of a bitch," she snarls at him, head jerking to the left a bit to glare up at him as best she can.

"If I had a mother I cared about, that might have hurt my feelings." She feels her head yanked back, the sharp cold metal of a blade is pressed against the delicate skin of her neck. "One cut, but not too deep." The blade slides against her neck gently but leaves behind a dull sting. Like receiving a paper cut. "I want to enjoy this."

Sakura grits her teeth.  _The woman from before, the one that bit Sasuke, was playing with me. God, she let me hit her. She was tooling with me._  She balls her good hand into a fist and slams it against the ground, feeling helpless.  _I can't perform my jutsu without both hands. Where is Naruto?!_  Sakura glances to her right. The dark purple and blue chakras surrounding Sasuke are far more violent than before.

If her naginata weren't lost somewhere in the forest, she'd gut him then and there. If she could move, of course.  _I'm going to die at the age of 12_ , she thinks. _And I haven't done anything to prove my worth to them._

"How can you daydream at a time like this, pinkie? You must really not care anymore. And here I was hoping you'd still have some fight left it you~" Sakura's self-pity is quickly replaced by agitation. "What was it that you said to me earlier today? Something about confidence being my undoing?"

She's about to reply when a rush of violent chakra claims the clearing. It sends shivers down her spine. She even feels Zaku falter behind her.

" _Let go of her_."

If the circumstances were different, Sakura might have cheered at seeing Sasuke awake and standing. But the reality of the matter sinks in rapidly. There are strange markings covering half of Sasuke's exposed skin and one of his eyes is gleaming a sickly yellow color. His lips are twisted into a snarl and the swirl of tainted chakra only adds to his demonic look.

" _Let go of her_ ," Sasuke repeats as he takes a step forward.

The blade returns to Sakura's neck. "Make me." It's cocky, but there's a brief underline of fear in those words.

 _You idiot_ , Sakura thinks. Because if there's one thing she has learned about Sasuke over the course of a few months it's that he is unforgiving. Unforgiving to those who harm people he has grown to cherish in ways beyond comprehension at times.

It's sort of a blur after that.

She's freed from Zaku's grasp and falls forward only to be caught by a grim-faced Shikamaru. Sakura manages to roll her head to the side and see a barely conscious Ino sending her a thumbs up from her place near Choji. She's about to call out to her friend when a sickening crack fills the air. Sakura jerks in Shikamaru's hold, neck popping when she looks over to Sasuke where he has Zaku pinned to the ground, his arms pulled back at an awkward angle. His shoulders are clearly dislocated.

There's a maniac grin on Sasuke's face.

 _I have to stop him_. He looks deadset on killing Zaku and Sakura, who would otherwise let him do it, all things considered, has to stop him because this isn't the Sasuke she's come to know on a personal level. This isn't the Sasuke she and Naruto go get lunch and dinner with after training. This isn't the Sasuke who pushes her to do better during their spars. There's something wrong with him.

"Let me go," she whispers to Shikamaru.

"You don't know what you look like right now," Shikamaru snaps at her. Snaps. "God, Sakura, you're a mess."

She would have hit him if it weren't for the truth. She more than likely looks as bad as she hurts.

"If I don't stop him, he'll be consumed." Sakura shifts in his hold, leaning up. Shikamaru tightens his grip on her before relenting. "I have to stop him. He's not Sasuke."

"I hate when you're right sometimes," he tells her.

Sakura's on her feet and running for Sasuke as soon as Shikamaru steads her on her feet; going as fast as she can. A few feet away and she launches herself at him, tackling him to the ground a few good feet away from an unmoving Zaku, uncaring of the pain that flares through her left hand. The moment their bodies hit the ground, she does her best to press all her weight down on him, her legs circling his and her arms pressed against his chest.

" _Get off me!_ "

"Stop it, Sasuke-kun. Just stop it. He can't fight back anymore." Sakura can feel the telltale signs of tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. God, she hates seeing him like this.

He struggles under her weight, nearly sends her flying off twice, before abruptly stopping. Sakura slowly sags against him, not caring what Ino and Shikamaru must be thinking at this moment. They have an unconscious teammate to worry about anyway.

"You're h-heavy, Sakura."

Sakura lifts her head, staring down at him with a tiny smile. His skin is clear although far more pale than normal and his eyes are normal. He looks seconds away from passing out again but she can't let him do that with Naruto still missing. They have to go find him together.

"Are you calling me fat?" She jokes in place of asking how he is.

Something - understanding, maybe - flashes across his eyes. "No."

She gots off him after that. The moment she's off him, she cradles her injured hand close to her chest. It hurts a lot and she knows there's nothing that can be done until they reach the tower. "Shikamaru," she calls over her shoulder. "What scroll do they have?"

"Heaven."

"Then both our teams get to advance to the next round," Sasuke states. He gets up, swaying briefly, before offering her a hand. "We need to find - "

_Crash!_

_Boom!_

Dust covers the clearing. Sakura feels Sasuke press up against her, protecting her from the debris the comes with it. She's grateful in a way, but the small squeak she releases when he puts pressure on her injured hand has him tense immediately.

"How hurt - "

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke!"

 _Thank goodness_.

* * *

Things start to look up when Team Seven and Team Ten make it to the tower in the center of the forest by night time without any more run-ins. Zaku and his teammates were left tied up in wire and rope with no scroll, no supplies, and in the middle of the clearing. Easy pickings, really, for the large wildlife in the forest. Sakura chooses to not to feel sympathetic in that moment.

After promising to find them later, Sakura says 'good-bye' to Shikamaru and Ino, wishing Choji a quick recovery in the process, and follows after Naruto and Sasuke to a private room where they can open their scrolls without witnesses. The familiar white smoke is replaced with their former Academy instructor.

"Looks like you kids have been through some rough times," Iruka smiles gently. "And since you got here," he pauses briefly, eyes widening, " _six days_  in advance, you have time to rest and heal up." He eyes the way Sakura is holding one hand to her chest. "Sakura, please go see a medic after we're done. That hand looks terrible."

"Yes, Iruka-sensei." The boys, along with Shikamaru and Ino, have told her to get her hand checked out first when they reach the tower. "Hopefully, it's well enough to use by the end of the week."

Iruka nods; satisfied. "There are rooms set up for each team. Three beds, a mini-fridge, one bathroom with a shower, and supplies to clean yourself and your weapons. There is also a very small laundry matt at the end of the hall. Please be aware of your surroundings and I would advise you to stick together as much as possible."

"Why?" It's Naruto who asks this. He's been surprisingly quiet up until then.

"We're going to be among enemies, idiot." Sasuke crosses his arms over his chest, clearly annoyed. "We need to be on guard."

But Naruto doesn't seem to understand. "But we made it to the tower! What are they going to do?! Attack us - "

"That's a high possibility," Sakura interrupts, remaining calm. "Nowhere was it stated or even said that we have to refrain from attacking each other while in the tower. Who knows where Kakashi-sensei is right now."

"There will be guards posted around the tower," Iruka is quick to add, "but caution is key. If your gut tells you to back off, back off." He sighs. "Just be careful. Your room is out those doors, up the stairs, and at the end of the hall near the laundry matt. Your names are on the plack next to the door."

"Where's the infirmary?" Sasuke asks quickly.

"Three doors down from this room."

Sakura sees Sasuke nod out of the corner of her eye.

"You guys have made it this far! Don't give up!" He's gone seconds later.

"Let's go to the infirmary first," Sasuke tells them. "For Sakura's hand and..." he trails off but Sakura understands. Naruto had been filled in bits and pieces and they can discuss everything that has happened once they're in their room for the night.

The walk is mostly silent save for Naruto's occasional hum.

* * *

"The good news is that the bones can be mended easily."

Sakura nods slowly. "And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that there's a two week minimum healing time in which you do not do any heavy lifting with that hand but seeing as the next round of the exams start this Sunday, that's not going to happen. So, your options are as follows: you drop out of the tournament to allow your hand the time to heal or you wear a hand brace."

"Dropping out of the tournament is out of the question," Sakura replies immediately. "But how does the hand brace work? I read a book a couple of years ago about some braces that can affect certain chakra affinities or block the chakra paths in the palm."

The medic nods. "In many cases, it's intended to keep the wearer from using their chakra to prevent further injury. Different reasons call for different braces. You suffered broken bones and damaged nerves in your hand, but the brace is intended to minimize the damage you may receive during this portion of the exam. You will still be able to use your chakra but try not to allow your hand to be hit too often."

"So, she'll still be able to kick some ass?!" Naruto pumps his fist into the air. "Hell yeah!"

Sakura finds herself smiling. "Thanks, Naruto."

"It'll take me about five minutes to heal your hand." The medic looks over at the boys. "Would you like me to take a look at you two as well?"

"I'm fine," Naruto gives the medic a thumbs up. "Just dirty. Nothing a shower can't fix."

Sasuke gives a tight-lipped head shake. Sakura sends him a look of confusion, but he steadfastly refuses to look at her. She doesn't push it. For now, at least.

"I'm surprised we didn't see Shikamaru's team," Naruto muses out loud. "They were in pretty bad shape when we got here."

"Nara-san's team was dealt with quickly. They're resting in their room." That's all the medic offers and Sakura can respect that. Even if both teams are Konoha, this is a competition after all and the medics must remain unbiased in regards to all teams. Also, it goes against conduct.

And so her hand it healed in a comfortable silence. The medic hands Sakura the black brace. It's soft on the outside but firmer on the inside when she slips it on. It looks like a bulky fingerless glove. Sakura draws chakra into her hand, frowns at the slight tinge, and wiggles her fingers. The tinge dulls soon enough.

"Do you know where your room is?"

Sakura nods.

"Good. I wish you three a pleasant evening."

It's a dismissal if she's ever heard one.

* * *

The room assigned to them is bare save for the three beds, a relatively dusty mini-fridge, some supplies placed on each bed (including a set of clothes), and a door leading to what she assumes is the bathroom. The room looks like it's only been recently used. While the air is stale, the bed sheets are clean. She can only hope the bathroom is the same way.

"Not bad," Naruto says. "They could have added a window.

Sakura nods in agreement. "Dibs on the bed near the corner," she states quickly, rushing forward to claim the bed despite Naruto's yell and Sasuke's snort of amusement. She throws herself half on it, near the pillow, and sighs.  _At least we won't be sleeping outside tonight_.

"Dibs on the first shower," Sasuke calls.

She sits up. Sasuke has claimed the bed right next to her. "Dibs on the second shower."

"Dibs on the fridge!" Naruto yells.

Sasuke and Sakura share an amused look. "Sure, Naruto." She grins at him. "Let's all clean up and eat something and then we can discuss what happened in the forest."

"I want to know the full story. Who was that Sound guy?!"

"A nuisance," Sasuke answers curtly.

_Hell yeah, he was!_

"Go shower, Sasuke-kun."

One-by-one, they shower and change into the spare clean clothes provided for them; simple dark blue long-sleeve shirts and black shorts. Hand-me-downs, but they're clean and Sakura's not going to complain about the lack of style. She just hopes her clothes will survive the wash or she'll be stuck using the spare clothes for the next round.

The bottom, clear plastic container of the mini-fridge is filled with mini bottles of water. There are fruit cups and vegetables on the first shelf along with snack cups and sealed containers of food. The top shelf is empty. Sakura laughs at the whole ordeal, something neither Sasuke nor Naruto appreciates, and grabs a bottle of water. She's not hungry anyway.

"What happened to you?" She asks once they all settle into their respective beds for the night. "You were just...gone." It's more than likely past midnight, but Sakura's not tired one bit.

"A giant snake attacked me," Naruto tells them. "It destroyed a whole bunch of tree and then managed to swallow me up! I tried to get it to let me out but my weapons were useless against it."

Sasuke snorts. "Then how did you manage to get out?"

"I made it explode with a bunch of my shadow clones." Naruto shivers dramatically. "Being inside a snake is gross. It's all gooey and pudgy and I hated every minute of it."

"I don't think anyone would appreciate being swallowed by a snake."

"There were a lot of smaller snakes trying to eat my face and then more spiders!" Naruto flops down onto his pillow. "I hate spiders."

"We know."

Naruto groans. "What about you two?"

Sakura bites her lip, looking at Sasuke. "We encountered a Sound nin, a woman, who is far above genin level. Above chunin and even jounin. She attacked us after swallowing her scroll whole."

"She swallowed it whole?!" Naruto shoots back to a sitting position. "What the hell?!"

"Her jaw unhinged like a snake," Sasuke states, arms crossed over his chest. "I was almost inclined to give her our scrolls just so we could leave but it was clear she wasn't interested in the scrolls at all. She just wanted to attack us."

 _She wanted to attack you_. "She targeted Sasuke-kun." Sakura continues despite the tense stare coming from Sasuke. "It's clear from the start. She mostly attacked him while batting the rest of us away like flies. I think she sent the snakes after Naruto to keep him from getting back to us. And then she..." She trails off, looking at Sasuke.

He looks uncomfortable. "She bit me."

"Why the hell would she bite you - " Naruto's cut off by a knock on the day.

"Who would be knocking at a time like this?" Sasuke asks as he gets out of his bed to open the door.

"Hello, my cute little student~"

"Finally!" Sakura throws her covers off her and stands up, hands on her hip. "Sensei, where have you been? You should have met us here earlier!"

Kakashi actually chuckles at her.  _The audacity..._  "I had to take care of a couple of things," he addresses them all. "But I came here as soon as I was done. I wanted to check up on you three. You made it here quickly along with some bumps in the road."

"I was swallowed by a giant snake!"

"My hand was crushed."

"I was bitten by a crazy lady."

Their sensei stares at all of them with something unreadable before he shakes his head. "Okay, storytime. Tell me everything that happened. Don't hold back any details. Since you don't really have to do anything for a few days, we can stay up tonight."

"Are you staying in the tower, sensei?"

"Yes. I'm rooming with Might Gai. You'll meet him soon enough. My room is located on the third floor. The second door on the left." He walks fully into the room and sits on the edge of Naruto's bed. "Just in case you need me. I'll be around."

"Who needs sleep?" Sakura asks as she relaxes. "Get comfy, sensei. We have a lot to share."

In the end, Kakashi stays most of the night. He remains mostly silent as the storytelling commences, nodding here and there or making soft humming noises. Occasionally, he looks ready to interrupt one of them but refrains from doing so. When they reach the topic of the Sound woman, their fight against her along with Team Ten, and how she ends up biting Sasuke when he's down for the count, Kakashi expresses concern.

"It left behind this mark," Sasuke tells all of them. He turns away from them for a bit and pulls on the bottom of his shirt to show all of them. "I felt sick after she moved away and then I felt... _really_  angry and then I passed out." Silence follows that before he nudges Sakura.

"I fought the woman, but she was only toying with me, sensei. She is very clearly beyond jounin level. Snake summons, terrifying genjutsu, A-Rank or S-Rank, and the way she fights is scary. She was indulging me and her goal was Sasuke. I only escaped because of that teleportation jutsu you taught us. It really did save us. Shikamaru and I found this uprooted tree and placed traps around it, but our luck didn't last very long. A team from Sound showed up..." Sakura looks down at her hands. The next bit makes her uncomfortable

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

"They said my chakra seemed familiar, but I don't understand how that works. How can chakra seem 'familiar,' sensei?"

Kakashi rolls her shoulders. "Someone people are very intuned with chakra and, therefore, they can separate people by their chakras."

"But I never met any of them before the first encounter before the written exam."

"It's hard to explain, Sakura. You may have crossed paths with them at some point before the exams. Foreign shinobi have been coming to Konoha for over a month for the exams. You could have walked passed them without thinking." His words do not ease the dread she feels in the pit of her stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have the time, please review.


	11. Chapter Eight - Part Two

**Chapter Eight - Part Two**

_Sometimes, we make the wrong choices._

_Sometimes, we can be fools with our thoughts._

_The question is, however, whether we care in the end or not._

"It's an advanced seal," Kakashi tells them after he's done inspecting the area just below Sasuke's neck on his left side. "There's foreign chakra within it and it's fighting your natural chakra paths. If it weren't for the fact that it's a political necessity for you three to take part in the exams, I'd make you three quit right now."

Sakura shares a surprised look with her teammates. "What do you mean by 'political necessity'?" The idea of backing out of the fighting after they've made it this far doesn't sit well with Sakura. "Look at how far we've come, sensei! Both in training and the exam. We couldn't possibly quit now."

He stares at her, his visible eye conveying nothing but blankness. "As you are aware, political leaders from across the great countries have been arriving in waves over the past month. News about what happened in Wave has carried as far as the wastelands, Sakura. They want to see the three of you fight. They're paying good money in hopes of seeing you three in the final round."

She feels Sasuke shifts in his seat next to her. "They refuse to take word of mouth so they've come to see our abilities in person." Sasuke presses up against Sakura, seemingly unaware of his actions. "Is that why you've been pushing us so hard? So we can impress the crowd?" There's something bitter in the way he speaks.

Sakura looks up at their sensei in silent demand. "There is no point in denying that. Yes. Part of the reason I pushed you three to expand your techniques and develop new ones is to make sure you put on a good show. The other part has to do with your career as shinobi." Kakashi runs a hand through his hair. "True, plenty of shinobi specialize in one area but I want you three to go beyond that."

"Beyond that?"

Kakashi starts counting on his fingers. "The dead last who happens to have an abundance of chakra, and the determination to win in high tension fights, who mastered a B-Rank jutsu on his first try. It is now his signature move." Sakura watches him glance at Sasuke. "The Last Uchiha who just so happens to have magical eyes that allows him copy any jutsu he pleases." Finally, he looks at Sakura. "The bookworm who is finally putting her smarts to use and learning that she can succeed in just about any area she puts her mind too. You three are unique individuals with obvious strengths and some weaknesses. I want you to turn your weaknesses into weapons."

"Then what do we do about the seal on Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks. She looks at Sasuke hesitantly and bites her lip briefly. "There were these marks that covered most of his body. Like black fire and he was surrounded by this strange -  _almost violent_  - purple and blue chakra."

"You didn't tell me that," Sasuke replies immediately. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

Sakura looks at the floor. "Once Naruto showed up, we booked for the tower. I consider us lucky to get here as quickly as we did."

"Sakura is right," Kakashi states and her head snaps up in surprise. "Your seal reacts to intense emotions."

Sasuke blinks slowly at each of them. "I remember...waking up angry and then I saw Sakura being held by her hair. Her hand looked bad. I just lost it after that." He falls silent for a moment before looking directly at her. "Still, you should have told me."

She looks away.

Naruto, who has been silent for a good portion of the time, asks an important question. "Who else saw Sasuke like that?"

"Shikamaru and Ino, I think," Sakura answers quickly. "Choji was knocked out and Ino was hurt pretty badly so I'm not sure what she was fully aware of."

"I'm going to put a seal on top of a seal," Kakashi states. "To keep it from activating during the rest of the exams, but once they're over," he looks at them all pointedly, "we have a lot to work on and a specialist will be brought in to remove the original seal." He claps his hands, overly delighted.  _Fake_ , Sakura thinks. "It's really late. Off to bed. I'll stop by with breakfast in the morning."

They all settle in their beds.

"Good night, sensei." Sakura sends him a tentative smile.

"Good night, my cute little students~" And then, in a more serious tone, "I'm proud of you three and how far you've come."

Whether he's talking about the exams or the training leading up to the exams, Sakura doesn't know but she does fall asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

The following morning, true to his word, their sensei shows up with a tray of assorted breakfast items. Sakura dives for the only orange on the tray and starts peeling it with the desperation of a starving person all the while ignoring the looks of concern sent her way. Can they really blame her? She's hungry and it's the first thing to stick out on the tray.

"Why didn't you eat last night?" Sasuke asks. With a certain amount of grace, he eats his porridge as if it were instilled in him at birth. That's probably true, in a way. Uptight clan grace and all.

"Wasn't hungry much," she answers. "Besides, oranges are refreshing. We'll be stuck in-between these rooms until the next round starts. I don't want to stay in a lethargic state until then." She glances to where Kakashi is sitting at the end of her bed this time. "Why are we given so much time to reach the tower?"

Kakashi causally flips to the next page in his book. "Not all genin are quick enough to recognize the complications of the forest. Because it's difficult for even experienced shinobi, the Hokage has determined it be a logical place to test survival skills and, of course, each team's hunting ability."

"That's an interesting way to describe what shinobi do," Sakura comments. "But appropriate in a way."

"We're always on the hunt."

"You make us sound like wolves," Sasuke throws in.

"Or like members of the Inuzuka clan," Naruto offers with a grin. "Bet Kiba would be angry if he heard me say that. I wonder who else has made it so far or if we're the only ones."

Kakashi is holding an apple in his hand. "You're not. That team from Sand made it here within an hour of the second round starting. They're resting in the room directly above you. I would do my best to not cross their path."

"Really?" Something about that doesn't settle well with Sakura. "Isn't that a new record or something?"

"It is," Kakashi confirms. "The previous record was five hours."

Sakura can see the way Sasuke tenses out of the corner of her eye. "Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm fine."

Blunt. To the point. Sakura nods but that doesn't stop her from worrying.

"After you're done with breakfast, Sasuke and I will leave so I can seal the foreign seal. I trust you," he knows to Sakura, "and Naruto to play it smart. Do not leave this room by yourself. Be on guard if you do. Try not to pick fights with any of the participants. I trust you both to make good choices."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good."

* * *

After Sasuke leaves with Kakashi, Sakura beelines for the bathroom and tries to do what she can with her hair. It's clean, but the shampoo provided is a little rough. It's silly, in her opinion, to bother with it but last night she didn't sleep so well with visions of being grabbed by her hair.

 _Should I cut it?_ At that moment, Sakura realizes something. She stores the thought away for a later time. She considers it a step forward.  _It's been a while since our mission in Wave. A lot has changed. I have changed._  Smiling at herself in the mirror, Sakura picks up the ribbon she brought into the bathroom with her and ties her hair in a low ponytail.

"Let's go visit Team Ten," Sakura suggests as she steps out of the bathroom. Naruto is lying on his back, clearly restless. "You're bored. I'm bored. They're probably bored."

Naruto shoots to a sitting position. "Anything's better than being stuck in here all day."

Finding Team Ten's room is a little bit difficult because neither she nor Naruto remembered what the room was. This isn't a normal circumstance for Sakura, but with everything that happened within the last couple of days being so stressful, she refuses to take the blame for forgetting.

She knocks on the correct door this time, a little bounce in her legs to keep them from going stiff. There's the sound of someone shuffling about inside and then the door cracks open.

"Choji!" Sakura exclaims with a smile. "Hi! How are you feeling?"

The plump boy returns her smile. "Pretty good." He opens the door fully. "Hey, guys. Sakura and Naruto are here."

Sakura hears a groan and moves forward just a bit to peek over Choji's shoulder. Ino and Shikamaru are laying on one of the beds together, at opposite ends, each with their lips twisted into that of a pained frown. "What's wrong?" She walks in as soon as Choji moves out of the way. "Are you both hurt?"

"Hangover," Ino manages.

"Hangover?!" Naruto rushes. "What the hell?! Before the next round?!"

"Stop yelling," Shikamaru whines. "Why are you so loud?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Sakura taps her foot. "And just where did you get the alcohol from?"

"Asuma-sensei stopped by last night," Choji answers for them. "Something about making it this far and how he was going to celebrate with the other sensei' and something about bets being placed or whatever. Ino snagged a bottle just before he left."

"Kakashi-sensei brought us breakfast," Naruto responds easily as Sakura walks over to the bed. "No alcohol."

"I should tell your moms what you both did. I can already imagine the looks on their faces."

"Don't be a snitch, Sakura." Ino looks up at her. "The next round won't start for a few more days."

"Asuma-sensei probably thought a hangover would be punishment enough for stealing a bottle." Sakura turns to Choji. "You didn't drink."

Choji is in the process of peeling an apple with a small knife. "Nope."

"At least someone uses their brain." She sends pointed looks towards the sluggish shinobi on the bed.

She feels a gentle smack on her leg and looks down at Shikamaru, cocking an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"You good?" It's asked quietly.

"I've survived this far," Sakura answers. "Last night, Kakashi-sensei stopped by to see how we were and we told him everything. But also, I want to thank you guys for keeping Sasuke safe to the best of your abilities." She leans over and grabs Ino's hand while also taking Shikamaru's. "Thank you." She turns to look at Choji. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks." Naruto assumes the position of someone who is relaxed with his hands behind his head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help."

As Sakura lets go, Ino sits up and helps Shikamaru. "No problem, Forehead Girl." Lips twitching with amusement, Sakura shares a look with a tentatively smiling Shikamaru. "Anyway, what the heck are you wearing?! Those clothes are ugly!"

"They're standard clothing," Shikamaru replies quicker than Sakura. "The only problem is that they make your hair and eyes stand out."

"I have to wash my other clothes but I don't know if they'll withstand the wash. My hoodie has a bunch of holes in it." She scowls deeply. "I really liked that hoodie."

"Let me see it before you wash it," Ino says. "I have some needle and thread with me. Maybe I can save it until you replace it?"

Sakura blinks. "Really?"

Ino huffs. "Yes, really."

"I would appreciate that, Ino-pig. Thank you." The two girls share knowing smile.

* * *

Against her better judgment, Sakura leaves Naruto with Team Eight to return to Team Seven's room for the rest of the afternoon. She uses Naruto's and Ino's silly argument - something food related, judging by Choji's occasional nods - to make her escape and offers Shikamaru a little wave just before she leaves.

He frowns at her but doesn't speak. His dark brown eyes follow her every move until she closes the door. Sakura feels tired and wary as if some unforeseeable force is clawing at the back of her mind. She knows the preliminaries will be a spectacular, yet frightening, experience. So long as she and the boys pass them, it should be okay.

Instead of heading back to Team Seven's room -  _Foolish, Sakura! Do you not have any self-preservation?!_  - like she originally intended, Sakura wanders around.

When a familiar sensation creeps up her back, Sakura turns around only to freeze. Standing across from her, all the way on the other side of the room, is a familiar red-head who looks more curious than angry or stone-faced. For a few moments, they simply stare at each other. Neither moving or seemly breathing as the air starts becoming tense.

Surprisingly, and Sakura counts this as a win on her part, Gaara speaks first.

"When did you arrive?" His monotone voice carries to her location.

"Yesterday," Sakura answers. "And yourself?"

"Half an hour into the start," he replies with an arching eyebrow. "I do not like to waste time." As if to imply that she and her team decided to waste time. No offense to Gaara, but the forest is big and this portion of the exam literally boils down to "every team for its self."

Sakura nods. "Impressive." It's impressive to hear a second time. "Are you looking forward to the next round?"

"I doubt it will provide enough  _entertainment_." The way he says 'entertainment' sends shivers down her spine. "I want to fight you."

 _So you can kill me?_  She looks at him for a long moment, forcing her eyes to maintain contact. "I would like to fight you as well." She applauds her bravado silently despite feeling a seeping sense of dread pool in the pit of her stomach. "We might get lucky. Who knows how many more teams will show up?" She has a feeling the Neji's team will appear soon and,  _maybe_ , Hinata's.

It's unsure at the moment.

Then, she briefly wonders if that one Sound team will appear before time runs out. Even so, Sasuke practically snapped the arms of one of them so she's not sure how he would even fight. The other two are crazy strong as well and she wonders what sort of training takes place in Sound. Her own training improved her skill but it's a completely different case when going against opponents with techniques she's unfamiliar with.

Gaara blinks once. "Your teammate is looking for you." He disappears in a swirl of sand. A moment later and Naruto's racing into the large room.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke is back in our room. Kakashi-sensei wants to talk to us. He's not very happy with you and neither am I! You can't just walk around here, Sakura-chan! It's not  _safe_."

"Oh, sorry." Sakura glances back at the spot Gaara was in mere seconds ago. Putting on a big, fake smile she turns to Naruto nods. "Let's go see Sasuke-kun."

* * *

For the first time in a long time, Sasuke seems completely at ease.

Even when she's scolded by Kakashi, he doesn't so much as twitch.

"Obviously, I expect you three to not mention the curse mark nor your fight with Orochimaru. Similarly, Asuma has told Team Ten the same thing. This is not something that should even be discussed while we're here but the preliminaries will start soon and I am aware that this will be on your minds for some time. This is enemy territory regardless of our fellow shinobi. You three are here to win and advance to the final round." He looks at Sakura directly with the last bit.

Sakura nods along with Naruto while Sasuke simply crosses his arms over his chest.

 _He doesn't even seem annoyed_ , she notes while glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"With only a few days left, I still refuse to let you three slack off and become complacent." Kakashi pulls a folded napkin out of his hip pouch and Sakura sighs.  _Of course_ , she thinks. "You're more or less confined to this room unless you need to do laundry or you leave -  _as a group_  - to visit other teams. So, to make sure you three haven't forgotten all your hard work so far, this is a list of exercises I expect you to do every day until the preliminaries begin."

Kakashi hands Sasuke the napkin because he is the closest and the three of them move into a circle to look at it.

Team Seven's Three-Day Workout

Push-ups (300), Sit-ups (250), Laps (500) - Room, 4 AM - 7 AM

"The room is small," is the only thing Kakashi tells her when she mentions "500 laps?"

Sakura rolls her eyes.

*Breakfast, 7:10 AM - 7:30 AM

Meditation, 7:35 AM - 8:25 AM

Weapon Training, 8:25 AM - 9:40 AM

Ninjutsu, 9:50 AM - 11:45 AM

*Light Lunch, 11:45 AM - 12:15 PM

*Repeat X 3

*Alternate Training

"To the best of your ability," he tells them the moment Sasuke lowers the napkin to stare. "You will do this."

"We'll be exhausted," Naruto exclaims.

"Will you?" Kakashi tilts his head. "Don't tell me I've been too easy on you three that you can't fall back into a simple regimen you were on not too long ago? Hm, maybe we should pull out now if you three aren't - " He's teasing, of course, but gets the reaction he clearly wants.

Sakura yanks the napkin out of Sasuke's hands and nudges Naruto to the side. "We'll be fine, sensei. We will follow this regimen, we will participate in the preliminaries, and we will advance to the final round."

Kakashi reaches forward and pats Sakura's head like she's a dog. "That's what I like to hear, Sakura-chan. You guys get to start today~ I'll check on you in a little while and maybe I'll bring you a snack." He's gone in a poof of white smoke.

The moment he is, Sakura whirls on Sasuke. "Be honest," she demands and bites her tongue briefly when he blinks at her in confusion. "How do you feel? Don't lie to me, Sasuke-kun. I will know."

Sasuke blinks slowly at her again before glancing at Naruto and then at the ground. "He sealed it, but the entire process hurt a lot more than I think he thought it would. I'm pretty sure I," Sasuke frowns briefly, "felt someone else in the room he took me too but Kakashi-sensei got rid of them quickly. After that..." He trails off for a moment, frown deepening. "After that, everything just went away."

"'Went away'?" Sakura asks. "Did you fall unconscious?"

"I don't," Sasuke struggles to answer, "know. I don't really remember beyond being in pain for what seemed like forever and then the pain vanished completely."

"Do you ya' feel okay now?" Naruto, who had been quiet for the most part, asks. "Like, you aren't going to faint if you fight, right?"

Sasuke's scoff brings a smile to Sakura's face. "As if, loser."

* * *

"I blame you both," Sakura wheezes, "for this." Her legs burn. How she managed to let the boys convince her into joining their silly racing challenge is beyond her comprehension.

"Don't be - shit! - mean, Sakura-chan!"

"Just," gulp of air, "stop complaining."

As a group, they collapse on the floor.

"I'm not out of sh-shape," Sakura mumbles to herself. "I'm not. I'm not."

"You aren't." Sasuke breathes. "Dropping a training schedule like the one we had last month or whatever and then picking it back up can be hard." He forces himself to roll onto his back with a grunt. "He's doing this on purpose. He wants us to struggle before we go all out. Sadistic man."

Naruto crawls towards them and drops his head on Sasuke's leg and reaches out for Sakura's ankle. "A team that sucks together, stays together."

"We don't suck," Sakura manages, though her chest still feels tight. "We just have to go back to this after we pass the preliminaries, move on to the next round, and win."

"You think all three of us will beyond the preliminaries?" Naruto asks. "Really?"

Sasuke, who hasn't moved to shake Naruto off his leg, huffs in response. "I would be embarrassed if the three of us didn't pass the chunin exams."

"Agreed," Sakura throws out. "I mean," she struggles to find her words for a moment. "Almost three months ago, I was struggling to do basic weapon exercises and I had my ass handed to me by you guys and I was always scared or upset over the small things that are insignificant now that I think back on it. I can fight you guys now and, even if I don't win based on the rules given to us, at least I know I can hold my own."

"Sakura-chan is amazing," Naruto breathes out sleepily.

"Don't fall asleep on me," Sasuke states but he only half-heartedly shakes his leg from Sakura's point of view.

Naruto mumbles something but doesn't lift his head. Taking one from Naruto's book, and believing that she and the boys have reached this point in their team bond (and friendship), Sakura shuffles herself closer and presses her temple against Sasuke's arm.

"Sakura," he deadpans, "don't copy the dope."

"Hush, Sasuke-kun." Sakura yawns. "It's naptime."

He doesn't reply and Sakura drifts off to sleep.

* * *

The three of them don't mention that imprompt-naptime, but they do manage to prank Kakashi when he shows up later with nasty energy drinks and a half-eaten loaf of bread. Sasuke's idea, Naruto's plan, and Sakura's creative use of ninja wire. The moment the door opens, Kakashi is hit with a small bag of dust and sneezes.

His sneezes are as cute as a kitten's.

"Doesn't this make you feel all nostalgic," Sakura asks him merrily as she brushes the dust off him as best she can.

"My students aren't cute," he sniffs dramatically. "Not cute at all."

Kakashi's next round of sneezes sends her and Naruto into a fit of laughter.

* * *

Sakura is smart.

Her confidence has grown.

She is confident in her intelligence.

Despite this, Sakura makes a very bad choice. Awaken in the dead of night due to a complicated nightmare, she sits up and glances around the dark room. The steady aura of Sasuke's and Naruto's chakra grounds her for a moment. Sakura, on the other hand, feels her pulse racing. Her heart is beating so loudly in her ear she's surprised that neither of the boys has woken up to the sound of it.

Palms clammy and skin sticky with sweat, she silently gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom. The moment the door is closed, with the tiniest click, she turns on the light and looks at herself. Her skin is unnaturally pale in the fluorescent light and her hair is hanging limply around her face. There's a thin pack of cheap hair ties resting on the sink; something Kakashi dug up from somewhere.

Tying her hair up, she does her best to quietly wash her face and calm her heart.

 _A nightmare_ , she thinks.  _A nightmare I created?_

But it almost seems like a memory.

Shaking her head, she makes the foolish decision to leave the room and just walk to the laundry room and back. She tries to convince herself that no one would be up this late save for the guards. The walk there is fine. The walk back leaves much to desire.

"Oh, look what we have here."

She applauds herself mentally for not jumping at the low, clearly amused voice.

"You shouldn't be walking around by yourself at night, Pinkie."

Carefully maintaining a blank expression, Sakura turns around and cocks an eyebrow. True to her earlier thoughts, the Sound-nin named Zaku has both of his arms wrapped and in slings. She'd love nothing more than to destroy the casts and permanently take away his ability to use his arms. The thought almost terrifies her. The only female of the Sound group, Kin (if Sakura recalls correctly), regards Sakura somewhat warily. Her skin has a grey tint to it and she seems exhausted.

"What would you be able to do to me?" Sakura asks. "Your arms are useless."

She blinks and he's gone from his spot.

She blinks and whirls around to block the kick aimed at her gut.

She blinks and jumps away to create some distance.

"Are you so scared that you'd try to take out the competition before the preliminaries start?" Sakura curses mentally. She sounds like an Academy cold Sasuke; full of arrogance and superiority. "How scared are you?"

"You have a pretty mouth," Zaku grins. "But you're right. I'd much rather have you," his eyes scan her from head to toe, "in tiptop shape. It'll make things fun before I have you kneeling and begging for your life."

Nothing but disgust washes over her skin but before she can speak, a decidedly familiar voice interrupts.

"Only cowards attempt to take out the competition before it starts. Is this all Sound is capable of?"

Sakura briefly spares a glance to the side and relaxes, just barely, with the presence of another Konoha shinobi. Neji, in what seems to be some sort of sleep attire, stands at the hall entrance with his arms crossed over his chest. His expression fits her mood; unimpressed and annoyed.  _Among other emotions._  She only wanted to take a walk and clear her head.

"Big talk for a Hyuga spawn," Zaku throws out before addressing Sakura once more. "I really hope we get to face each other, Pinkie." Zaku takes a couple of steps back. "Let's go." He doesn't look at Kin and Kin doesn't spare Sakura or Neji another glance. They're gone in a matter of seconds.

"Walking around aimlessly at night is foolish," Neji states. He's making his way over to her, perhaps concerned for her wellbeing. "I'll escort you back to your room."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura crosses her arms over her chest much like he is. "I don't need an escort, Neji-san. I was having trouble sleeping and thought a walk would help me clear my head." She scowls at the ground. "I didn't think they'd make it here. My team and another's left them beaten and tied up."

"Allies are made during these events," he supplies in a quiet voice. "You need to be aware of that."

"Are we allies, Neji-san?" Sakura cocks her head to the side.  _You seem worried_ , but she doesn't say it out loud.

"That depends."

She blinks. "Depends on what?"

"It depends on whether we face each other or not." He turns around and starts walking away, presumably back to his team's room. "Do make sure you return to your room soon, Sakura-san."

Watching him for a moment, Sakura feels content. They aren't even close to being friends but she thinks they can be. With a slight skip in her step, feeling a little better despite the confrontation, Sakura heads back to her room. She can't help but look over her shoulder at where Neji is and sees him standing there, pale eyes following her movements. They stick out in the limited lighting.

 _It looks like the veins around his temples are sticking out_ , she thinks absentmindedly.  _Strange_.

* * *

Returning to her team's room doesn't go as smoothly as she would have liked because, upon opening the door as quietly as she can, Sasuke is awake and sitting up in his bed. The bathroom door is cracked with the light on. It's the only way she can see the full scowl on his face. Sasuke is annoyed and it's directed at her.

He opens his mouth to say something - "Don't," she states softly while walking over to her bed. "Be mad at me in the morning."

Sasuke's eyes narrow at her. "You're upset."

"No," she disagrees. "I'm tired. That's it." Sakura turns her back to him and sighs. "Like I said, be mad at me in the morning. You can even tell Naruto so he can be mad too." She yawns. "And Kakashi-sensei."

"Sakura - "

"Please, Sasuke-kun? Not tonight."

There's a barely heard sigh of frustration. "Fine."

Satisfied, Sakura falls into a restless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back with an update! I hope this will tie you guys over until the next chapter. Let's clear some things up real quick: Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi won't find out about Sakura's home situation for a while. Sakura knows next to nothing about the Byakugan. Sakura doesn't always make good choices but that's human nature I think.
> 
> The preliminaries start next round! Who do you guys think Sakura will face? If you have the time, please review.


	12. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

_The devil plays you like a puppet,_

_Because you choose this life._

_Learn to bear your regrets._

Sasuke doesn't mention Sakura's sneak away at any point.

Despite the glances she keeps shooting him, obviously seen by their sensei, he keeps his lips firmly pressed together unless directly spoken too. Even Naruto seems to sense the agitation from their teammate and has wisely directed any conversation not relating to the exams away from him. Kakashi doesn't seem to particularly care but no one can ever really tell given his mask.

"Exams start first thing in the morning," Kakashi tells them. "Are you nervous?"

"Psh, no." Naruto grins widely. "Why would we be nervous, Kakashi-sensei?! We're gonna' kick ass and all of Team Seven will be chunin by the end of the month!" Sakura appreciates Naruto's confidence because now she's really feeling the pressure knowing that Team Dosu is somewhere in the vicinity and she'll be facing friends and comrades alike.

She feels Sasuke shifts next to her and bites her lip to keep from glancing at him  _again_. "Who else made it besides Nara's team, the Sand team, and the Sound team?"

"Team Eight made it," Kakashi answers with a shrug. "And the team led by Might Gai."

 _Neji-san's team_ , Sakura's mind immediately supplies.

"Cool," Naruto grins. "So we all get to face someone!"

"Don't lose your head yet," their sensei cautions. "There's a high chance you three could end up facing one another." They all tense. "Fights are randomly selected to avoid bias. Each participant's name is entered into a computer and the computer spits out a pair. The pair fights and only the winner advances to the final round."

Sakura licks her lips. "If we end up fighting each other, we can't hold back just because we're teammates. We won't gain anything from it."

"Sakura-chan is right," Kakashi immediately responds while nodding his head in approval. "I don't want to see punches pulled if any of you face each other but I also don't want to see any of us go for the kill. For the other teams? Throw everything you got at them. Trick them. Play dirty. Kill if necessary. Do what you need to do to win, do you understand me?" Sakura nods along with the boys even if the idea of killing someone around her age doesn't settle well with her. "This isn't training. If you get hurt, you can't stop unless you or your opponent is dead or unconscious or if you decide to give up. By which I mean, if you give up...I will personally make the next year a living hell for you."

"Wha - " But Naruto is cut off.

"So don't forfeit," they're told with false cheer.

* * *

All six teams are gathered and placed in rows in order of arrival to the tower. From her position in the back, Sakura can barely make out Kiba's fuzzy hood and Gaara's bright red hair. In the back next to her on the left is a thumb-twiddling Hinata. To her right, unfortunately, is Kin of Team Dosu. The Sound nin keeps sending her looks of equal parts disdain and caution.

Sakura cocks an eyebrow at her while wondering what Team Dosu's obsession is with her and Sasuke. They were after Sasuke but the other boy, the nasty one called Zaku, has taken a special interest in her. It's creepy.

"Congratulations on making it this far in the exams," the Hokage starts. "I'm glad to see so many teams combine their skills to qualify for the next section of the exams. Your senseis' may have informed you ahead of time, but this is a preliminary round to determine who advances to the final round. During the preliminaries, you face the possibility of fighting your team. Because we have an uneven amount of numbers, I will ask now if anyone wants to resign now and participate in the exams at the end of the year? If not, one of you will be selected to face a second opponent."

Convinced no one will raise their hand, Sakura smiles determinedly.

"I resign."

Her head snaps to the side along with several others. Kabuto has his hand raised. "I've made it this far," he states. "What's half a year?" Sakura watches him walk out in quick strides. A small pang of pity goes out for the man. He'll probably be an eternal genin.

"Alright." One of the proctors, a man with dark bags under his eyes, steps forward.  _He looks ill._  "My name is Hayate-san. I will be the proctor for the preliminaries. Your names have already been entered into the computer and battles are randomly selected. If you're not selected to fight, I ask that you remain on the second floor behind the rail." The man - Hayate - coughs. "Let's begin." He holds up a remote and points it all the large screen off to the side.

Together, the entire room watches the names flash at rapid speed before stopping.

Sakura eyes widen.

Uchiha Sasuke  **vs**. Yamanaka Ino

"If you are not Uchiha Sasuke or Yamanaka Ino, please make your way to the second floor to avoid potential injury or death."

Leaning close to Sasuke, Sakura whispers a soft "good luck" before looking at Ino and mouthing the same thing. She has a pretty solid idea of how this fight will end, but she hopes neither of them receives a permanent injury. As top students in their respective classes, Sakura knows that each will give as good as they get. Hopefully.

Honestly, Sakura looks forward to seeing how Ino has improved over the last couple of months. Kakashi is waiting in the center section on the second floor off to the side of the unisex bathroom. He nods in acknowledgment, his orange book out, and leans casually against the wall. Sakura leans against the rail along with Naruto, eyes shifting between a calm Sasuke and twitching Ino.

_She's nervous._

"Sasuke's gonna' win," Naruto whispers. "There's no way he'd lose to a - "

"If you finish that sentence with 'girl' I will personally see to it that ramen is banned from Konoha for the rest of your life."

Naruto is immediately quiet.

"After everything you've been through with Sakura-chan, you make a comment like that?" Sakura doesn't have to turn around to know that Kakashi is shaking his head. "What have I taught you, Naruto? Never underestimate your opponent because the seemingly weakest people pack the greatest punch." Biting her lip to hold back a grin, Sakura nods once while not taking her eyes off the pair down below.

Hayate starts speaking again. "This is a no-holds match. All injuries are welcomed; even fatal injuries. Use any means necessary to win. The match will only conclude if either one of you is knocked, killed, or can no longer participate by any means. Your one semi-rule is to do your best not to hit the other competitors on the second floor. Am I understood?"

Sasuke nods while Ino gives a stiff "yes."

"Alright," Hayate raises his arm before slashing it down vertically. "Begin."

In a blink of an eye, Sasuke disappears from view. Sakura, like Naruto, starts glancing around the arena. She spots her missing teammate moments later - a lucky catch - and looks away to avoid potentially helping Ino out if she stares too long. Ino is looking around too, twisting this way and that, eyes roaming the walls, ceiling, and floor. At the last second, she jumps out of the way when a wave of kunai erupt from the wall; as if appearing out of thin air. Ino creates some distance from the wall, staring at it while drawing a kunai out of her own pouch.

"I want Sasuke-kun to win," Sakura whispers to Naruto. "But I also don't want Ino to lose."

"Sakura-chan, how is Sasuke blending in with the wall?" Naruto asks instead of replying.

"A long and complicated jutsu that'll leave him drained of chakra if he doesn't use it wisely," Kakashi states.

Sakura glances over her shoulder. "One of the secret jutsu' you taught him, sensei?" She can see a faint smile through his mask. "Don't you have to have certain affinities in order to do what Sasuke-kun is doing right now?" She's not looking at him anymore. Her eyes stray back to Ino who, unfortunately, is now being attacked on all sides with kunai, senbon needles, and shuriken.

She briefly entertains the idea of Sasuke just messing with Ino but that's quickly dismissed. Sasuke doesn't like wasting unnecessary time. This jutsu, however, is a curious one and the seconds' tick by quicker than she realizes. Finally, the weapons stop coming. Ino has a few lodged in her arms and legs but she's still standing.

"Come on, Ino!"

Looking towards Team Ten, Sakura catches the eyes of Shikamaru.

"Troublesome," he mouths at her.

She shakes her head in amusement.

"You can do it!"

Sakura looks pointedly at Choji, then at Shikamaru, and finally jerks her head towards Ino. She raises an inquiring eyebrow. Shikamaru shows all the signs of groaning before calling out, in his lazy drawl, for Ino to hurry and "kick ass." By then, it's too late. Sasuke appears behind Ino in a dark blur and presses a kunai to her neck while somehow managing to twist her arm behind her back thus forcing her own kunai against the base of her spine.

Ino swings her free arm back, but Sasuke knocks her legs out from under her and forces her to her knees. He doesn't speak. He doesn't glance their way or towards the proctor. Instead, Sakura can vaguely make out Sasuke's moving lips and the way he presses the blade harder against her lower back. Head bowing in defeat, Ino declares her forfeit. The moment she's done speaking, Sasuke backs off.

"Winner; Uchiha Sasuke." In a surprising act of gentlemen-like behavior, Sasuke moves to stand in front of Ino and offers his hand to her. Sakura can see Ino's shock from where she's standing and smiles a little when Ino accepts the hand. He lets go almost immediately after but Ino doesn't look upset at all. Well, she smiles a little sheepishly up at her team before making her way to the stairs.

Sasuke, on the other hand, leaps up to the second floor. Ino's fight is anti-climatic in a way, but she doesn't look really upset.

"Good job," Sakura comments with a smile. "Your jutsu was intriguing."

"I have fire and lightning affinities," he speaks quietly while leaning against the rail on the other side of her. "Learning jutsu outside of your affinities is hard," he admits. "But I wanted something unexpected." Sakura follows along with his gaze to Team Ten where Choji is offering Ino a bag of unopened chips and Asuma is patting her shoulder. "I didn't expect to fight her and I only have a vague idea of what she's capable of."

Sakura nods. "She was the top female student."

"One of her vaguely noted specialties is chakra strings. Like stepping into a trap, you don't know you're caught until you try to move. I wasn't going to give her the opportunity to look inside my head."

"Well," Naruto interrupts, "you did well." His head is turned to the side, arms crossed over his chest.

"That's high praise coming from you," Sakura laughs. "Mark this day, Sasuke-kun. Naruto praised you without being forced to."

"Truly, the world is coming to an end," Kakashi pipes up. "But good job, Sasuke. I see you can use that jutsu pretty well. How do you feel?"

Sasuke rotates his left shoulder. "Like I'm carrying extra weight but it's not bad." At Kakashi's nod, Team Seven waits for the next match to be determined.

The computer flashes names for roughly ten more seconds before stopping abruptly. She hears Sasuke make a noise of interest and Naruto mumble about "rotten luck" and, really, Sakura doesn't know where she stands on this particular pair because she's not familiar with one despite having been in the same class as pre-genins and literally met the other one some days ago.

Hyuga Hinata  **vs.**  Hyuga Neji

"I need Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Neji step into the arena," Hayate calls out.

Neji leaps over the rail and lands directly in front of the proctor. His movements are swift and graceful but he's looking elsewhere. Sakura matches his gaze and sees Hinata slowly walk down the stairs and make her way to the center. Her head is bowed, her shoulders are slumped, and she's fiddling with the bottom of her hoodie. Neji regards her with such distaste that Sakura's genuinely surprised.

"She's like a rabbit in a fox's den," Sakura hears herself say.

"There's bad blood there," Sasuke responds. "He's looking at her like she's the dirt beneath his sandal."

"There's a rather well-known strain among the Hyuga clan," Kakashi supplies. Sakura looks over her shoulder to see their sensei directly behind them. "The family is split into two categories - "

"Main and branch," Sasuke interrupts. "In simple terms," he's addressing Naruto and Sakura, "those who fall under the branch section are enslaved by the main house." He nods to Hinata. "She's a part of the main house. My," Sasuke inhales sharply, "father used to do business with the leader of the Hyuga clan. The other one - Neji, was it? - is a part of the branch section. The animosity between the two sections is nothing to laugh about. Branch members lose their freedom between the ages of 3 and 4."

Sakura sees Naruto clench his hands over the rail. "So - what? He's gonna' to take it out on her?"

"I find myself agreeing with Naruto. Hinata has never gone out of her way to be disrespectful and she often kept to herself in the Academy. Is he directing his hatred towards her specifically or the main house as a whole?"

"In this case, it doesn't make a difference." Kakashi plops a hand down on Sakura's shoulder. "Main house is main house regardless of age or gender. She is the heiress to the Hyuga clan. To a branch member who had their freedom stripped away, all main house members are the same." She sees Sasuke nod out of the corner of her eye.

Naruto whirls towards Kakashi. "How can that be okay, Kakashi-sensei?! No one should be forced into servitude!" He turns back around to glare down at the pair. The match has already begun and Neji has already told Hinata to forfeit twice. "What's happening to him isn't fair but he shouldn't be taking it out on someone who's only ever been nice."

"Then what are you going to do about it, idiot? Yell at him? You can't interrupt the match."

Naruto flashes them a grin and thumbs up before cupping his hand around his mouth. "Kick his ass, Hinata!"

Hinata jumps and looks upwards where Naruto has his fist raised in a cheer. It takes a few seconds for her resolve to strengthened and she drops into a defensive position. Sakura blinks once, twice, and then turns to Sasuke. "Are there veins around their temples?" Sasuke nods but doesn't say anything else. It takes her a moment to realize that maybe Sasuke didn't know much about other clans.

"That is the Hyuga dōjutsu known as the byakugan. The byakugan gives the user a near 360º diameter field of vision and allows them to block chakra paths through specialized taijutsu." Kakashi moves to rest against the railing beside Sasuke. "Members of the Hyuga clan have specialized taijutsu for many reasons but primarily for their dōjutsu."

As the match carries on, Sakura finds it hard to keep watching. It's clear that, at some point when they started exchanging blows, Neji did something to Hinata because any hit she lands on the taller boy has no effect on him. Still, she's also amazed that Hinata keeps going despite the blood dripping down her chin and the bruises forming on her face.

When she collapses from a powerful blow, Sakura finally looks away.

"Your strikes were ineffective from the start," she hears Neji state in a cold voice. "You're finished." Sakura looks back and sees Neji turn to the proctor. "Are we done here?"

 _Arrogant._  Sakura's nose wrinkles.  _Jerk._

"Seeing as you can't move. I'm calling an end to this match."

But Hinata does move. She moves after Naruto yells at her to "get up!" Hinata, with trembling arms, pushes herself up. "You can do it, Hinata!" Naruto's hollering causes Sakura's left eyebrow to twitch but she doesn't attempt to stop Naruto from encouraging Hinata to get up. "You can do it, Hinata!" Right hand holding the area under her left arm, Hinata's legs shake with the effort to stand.

"Back down," Neji demands. "You'll only risk further injury. Such suffering isn't worth it."

Hinata shakes her head. Even from the second floor, Sakura can see the sympathy in her expression. "You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can see...that you are suffering more than me." She brings up the suffering the main and branch sections but Sakura can only see the steadily growing dark look on Neji's face. The aura surrounding him takes a deadlier spike.

When he charges at her in blind anger, Sakura - and Sasuke, by the look he's sending her - immediately notice Kakashi's disappearance.

Everything comes to a halt.

The proctor, Neji's sensei, Hinata's sensei, and their own sensei have contained the angry boy.

"That's enough, Neji. That's enough."

And then Hinata gasps and collapses to her knees; coughing up blood as she does. Sakura's moving before anyone else can but she feels Naruto right on her heels. Not even bothering with the adults, she immediately gets Hinata on her back and presses an ear to her chest. The shallow breaths and scary pace of her beating heart leads Sakura to think she's about to have a heart attack.

"Medic!" Naruto calls frantically. "Get a medic!" The rest of Team Eight are quickly at Hinata's side. Sakura can hear Kiba's puppy whine.

When Hinata is carried off on a stretcher with her sensei jogging alongside it, Sakura is quick to grab Naruto's wrist so he doesn't storm over to Neji - who is merely regarding both of them blankly at this point - and demand that they fight. Looking into the eyes of the boy who has been polite to her in the past, who showed concern for her well-being, Sakura doesn't know what to think or feel. Maybe disappointment? Maybe anger?

"Let's go back," Sakura pulls Naruto close to the wall so they can leap up to the second floor. "Challenge him later, Naruto. We...need to let the next match begin."

* * *

The fight between Neji and Hinata left the atmosphere full of tension. The fight between Shikamaru and Kin left the entire room wanting. Shikamaru is clever but he's not an offensive fighter and Kin was careless enough to get caught in his shadow possession jutsu too close to the wall. The fight is over in minutes. The fight between Gaara's older sister and Neji's female teammate is a little better but ends with the Sand nin nearly breaking the spine of the younger girl.

Sakura winces visibly when she hears the crack of bones and she turns away when Dosu sends Choji into a wall, three minutes into their match, effectively knocking her fellow Konoha nin out. Things pick up between Shino and Kankuro. She learns from Kakashi about the Aburame clan's connection to various insects. It's both fascinating and kind of scary to watch. Kankuro's puppets open their mouths in a creepy way.

The match between them ends in a double-knockout. One of Kankuro's puppets is broken into large pieces and Shino's reflexes weren't fast enough to block a strike to his head. Both opponents crumble to the floor within seconds of each other and the match is officially declared over.

"Wow," Naruto whispers. "That was intense." He's shivering.

"Are you cold?" Sakura asks with concern.

"No," Sasuke answers for Naruto. "The idiot just has an irrational fear of bugs."

Naruto glares at Sasuke around Sakura's shoulders. "Giant. Spiders. The. Size. Of. My. Face." He emphasizes each word. "Do you not understand, asshole?! I could have died in the forest!"

"Which was worst?" Sakura asks to avoid an unnecessary argument. "A giant snake swallowing you whole or giant spiders that can eat your face? Personally, I'd take a giant snake over a spider any day." She laughs a little but when the assumed whine of Naruto doesn't follow after, Sakura turns towards him. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

"Sakura-chan," he starts. "Sakura-chan, it's your turn."

Sakura turns towards the large computer and stares at it unblinkingly.

Abumi Zaku  **vs.**  Haruno Sakura

"Will Abumi Zaku and Haruno Sakura step into the arena?"

Sasuke sends her an unreadable look and Naruto looks uncomfortable. They're pressed right up against her in an unconscious protective state. Too close to her. Regardless of what happened in the forest days prior to now, she refuses to lose. With a smile at her team - although forced - she leaps over the railing and leisurely walks to the center where Proctor Hayate and Zaku are waiting.

"Looks like I get my wish after all, eh, Pinky?" Zaku is grinning something fierce at her.

Inhaling softly, Sakura tilts her head to the side in a picture-perfect example of completely relaxed before casting a glance at the proctor. "May we begin?" Hayate's lips twitch in barely-seen amusement before he nods. In a quick, vertical slash of his hand, the match begins. Sakura dashes forward, to the incredibly brief surprise of her opponent, and strikes one of his arms before dashing away to create some distance.

"I know your arms aren't hurt severely anymore," she states from several feet away. "You're just pretending."

Lips twisting into a feral grin, Zaku starts walking near her. "Oh? Is that right?"

Sakura smiles and holds up a single silver wire. "Unfortunately,  _I_  might be the one to damage them beyond repair." She bites back a grin when the wire catches fire and small spark shoots across the arena directly to the arm she struck barely a minute ago. A burst of flame consumes Zaku's left arm, causing him to scream, and Sakura keeps her eyes locked with his.

There are small flesh chunks on the ground.

"You bitch," he snarls. "I'm going to fucking kill you."

_"A provoked enemy often turns into a reckless enemy," Yamato explains seriously late one evening after they finish their training. "But you have to proceed with caution. Expect the unexpected because each enemy will react differently when provoked. Some become completely consumed by their anger and others can be much more calculative. If you take that step, you have to mean it and do what is necessary to ensure that they don't incapacitate you."_

"Promises, promises," she provokes.  _Go on. Be reckless in your current state._  Even injured, with flesh missing and a blood puddle slowly building, the Sound nin moves fast. His anger nearly sends him colliding with her just by sheer force of will. He's coming at her at dangerous speeds, his good hand gripping a kunai aimed at her throat. Sakura dodges and glides, footwork improved in the last couple of months.

He fakes out; pretending to dive for her stomach.

She falls for it. It's a grand mistake. A  _rookie_  mistake.

An  _ungraduated_  Academy student mistake.

He tackles her to the ground.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's worried cry is quickly echoed by Ino.

Zaku has his full weight on her, his arm pressed up against her throat. It's difficult to breathe but she forces herself to stare into his eyes defiantly while struggling to get him off of her. Fingernails claw at his face, his neck, and hand. She makes a mess of him but he's unrelenting.

"I really wanted to have fun with you," he hisses in her face. "If only you weren't such a pain in my ass." He leans in close, the tip of his nose nuzzling along her cheek and down to her neck. It leaves a revolting feeling behind. She feels sick. When Zaku pulls away, he's smirking down at her. "It's a shame, really, because you're cute."

"God damn it, Forehead Girl! Get him off you!" Ino yells from above her. "Use your head!"

_What?_

Oh.

_Oh._

Ino probably didn't mean it literally but it doesn't matter. In a split second decision, Sakura jerks her head up and slams it as hard as she can into Zaku's nose. The pain in her forehead is quickly forgotten by the crunch of a newly broken nose and the gurgled groan that follows. The surprise is enough for her to shove him off her and scramble to her feet. He's fast, though, and grips her by her hair before she can't fully gather her bearings and yanks her back.

His laughter, fuzzy from the nose injury, grates on her ears.

"Not today," she snarls to herself angerly.  _What happened to my training?! Why am I like this?! Have I learned nothing?!_ What happens after that is a mess. By God, she is so angry.

Even with his painful grip on her hair, she jerks her head to the left, whips out one of her larger kunai, and slams it into his stomach. He drops her hair but it isn't  _enough_  for her. She rips her weapon out of him and plunges it back in just above it. Her hands feel sticky. Sakura's facing him now, delighting (good God, why?) in the pained expression on his face, and lashes out in one final attack aimed for his neck.

Her kunai is shoved into his neck and yanked across it.

Hot, sticky blood splatters across her face, coats her hair, and dribbles down her neck only to disappear under her borrowed shirt.

The only sound that follows is a gurgle from Zaku who stares at her unseeingly. When he collapses, Sakura - knowing all eyes are on her - does one final thing that sets even her own nerves on fire. She leans down and wipes her bloody kunai against the clean part of Zaku's pale yellow shirt and then puts it back in her pouch. When she's done, she stands up straight and turns to the proctor.

The sick feeling from before returns full-force when she sees the look on his face.

 _You are a shinobi_ , she tells herself.  _Do not show any emotion._

"Winner; Haruno Sakura."

_Do not cry._

Instead of walking to the stairs, Sakura turns toward her team and leaps up to the second floor in silence. Naruto doesn't greet her with false cheer or congratulations. His horrified look sends her gaze to the ground. "Sasuke," she hears Kakashi say, "take Sakura to the bathroom and help her clean up." Without a word to her teammates and no words from her teammates, Sakura obediently follows after Sasuke.

* * *

The bathroom is small; two sinks and two stalls. She takes a good look in the mirror and doesn't recognize herself. Her face is red and sticky with a few dry flakes falling off. Her hair is a mess and looks disgusting. Sakura lifts her chin to see some bruising on her neck. Zaku's bulky arm did some damage but it'll heal in a few days. Zaku's other arm was completely useless with pieces of it  _missing_.

 _You are a shinobi_ , she tells herself when her eyes start to sting.  _Do_ not _show any emotion._

Sasuke turns on the water, adjusting the temperature to what he deems appropriate, and takes to pulling paper towels from the dispenser. She doesn't speak when he leans over and turns on the water from the sink directly in front of her. "Rinse your face," he orders quietly. "And then I'll help you rinse your hair." Sakura cups some water into her hands and splashes her face unnecessarily violent. She does this a bunch of times without looking up.

Her eyes sting terribly. Sakura sucks in a shaky breath. One. Then two. Three. The first sob hits her harder than she anticipates. Bracing her hands on the sink, Sakura hunches over it, her shoulders trembling, and sobs openly. Her cries are almost drowned out by the combined running water. Sakura doesn't react much beyond flinching when Sasuke presses a hand to the low of her back.

"I'm s - I'm - " but she can't get the words. "I'm - " Sakura coughs roughly, choking on her words.

"It's okay." She barely hears Sasuke. "You'll be okay, Sakura." Damp paper towels are pressed to her face. She keeps crying. She feels useless. Sasuke doesn't speak anymore. His task is to help her clean up, not comfort her because she's having a hard time accepting her actions. Y _our first kill. You made your first kill today. You made your first kill in front of your friends and team._

By the time Sasuke steps away from her, tossing the wad of damp paper towels into the trash bin, Sakura has her breathing under control although her hands still shake. It takes her nearly a full minute until she is able to cup some water and splash her face. She isn't careful about rubbing away what remains left of Zaku's blood. Sasuke silently hands her a few dry paper towels to wipe her face.

"You bastard!" Naruto's voice carries over the running water followed by the sound stone falling.

Neither of them comments on it. Sasuke does motions for her to come closer when she looks at him. "Turn off the water first and then put your head under the faucet." She does. Getting the blood out of her hair takes longer than washing her face. Sasuke moves deft fingers through her hair, washes the sides of her neck as best he can without soaking her shirt, and then proceeds to squeeze the water from her hair after turning off the faucet.

"Lift your head a bit." Sakura does as she is told and watches, through half-opened eyes, as Sasuke does his best to remove as much water as he can. "I don't think I can do anything else."

Sakura stands up straight and looks at her reflection. Puffy eyes, red face, and damp hair hanging down over her left shoulder. She looks like a drowned cat but there's no blood in sight. She looks terrible but feels cleaner.

"I wish I had a hair tie," she mumbles.

"Here."

She looks at Sasuke and then her gaze drops to his outstretched hand. There's a single black hair tie resting in the center of his palm. Sakura accepts it without a word. With the ease of someone who does it often, she twists her hair up into a bun and secures it with the hair tie. She inhales and exhales slowly. Having her hair up makes her feel a little bit.

"Thank you," she finally tells Sasuke. "For...everything."

He nods.

"And I'm so - "

"Don't."

Sakura stops immediately. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Don't apologize. It was life or death." His eyes roam over her face briefly. "You'll be okay." He turns around. "Let's get back to the idiot and Kakashi-sensei."

Lips forming a small smile, Sakura follows after him with her shoulders feeling a little less heavy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a...pretty intense chapter to write. I got emotional while writing the bathroom scene. Sakura will have bonding "moments" with other characters, I promise.


	13. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time, slow write.  
> Not much to say.  
> Enjoy!

**Chapter Ten**

_Fear comes and goes,_

_But it always leaves an ache._

Sakura spares a single glance in Team Ten's direction as she and Sasuke walk out of the bathroom - noting the blank expression on Shikamaru's face and the frown on Ino's - before stopping next to a semi-beat up Naruto. Almost immediately, and without a single sound, Naruto wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her into his side. For a moment, Sakura remains stiff in his hold. It's not something she expected him to do.

"I was scared," he whispers when the silence between them continues on just as the next match is announced. "I was so scared, Sakura-chan. I wanted to jump down there and help you but Kakashi-sensei wouldn't let me. I think Sasuke was going to help me get to you by distracting sensei but then..." Naruto trails off and Sakura knows where the conversation is heading.

"It was me or him," she whispers back. "It was me or him." How could she explain the white-hot fury seeping into her bones at that moment? How could she explain the brief moment of embarrassment at the idea of forgetting all her training during a match? "Naruto, he would have killed me. He would have."

His arm tightens to an almost painful squeeze but Sakura doesn't comment on that. "I know, Sakura-chan. I just wish," he sighs, "it didn't come down to that."

"Naruto - "

"We're shinobi, dumbass." Sasuke isn't glaring at Naruto when Sakura looks his way. If anything, he just looks bored (but she knows he's had years of self-training to project perfect indifference). His eyes are different, though, and she would like to think she can read him a little better. "People like us die every day. But," he continues when Naruto jolts against Sakura as if to protest, "people like us win every day too. Like Sakura did."

Simple praise and Sakura smiles at the ground.

Naruto's arm loosens around her waist and he moves back a little bit to give her some space. It's silent between the three of them. "The final match is about to begin. I need Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara in the arena now." Together, Team Seven watches as a green-clad boy jumps over the railing while Gaara appears at the bottom in a swirl of sand. "Are you ready?"

"Yosh!" Lee grins.

Gaara only stares.

"Begin."

The match starts off - in Sakura's humble opinion - incredibly ridiculous. Lee is fast but Gaara's sand is faster. He just stands still, arms crossed over his chest, while his eyes follow Lee with open disinterest. Part of her feels annoyed on Lee's behalf because she knows what it feels like to not be taken seriously. Another part of her can't help but sympathize with Gaara because it must be boring to do little to no work and still win.

All that changes when Lee's sensei gives him permission to drop his weights.

"Holy shit," she hears Naruto whisper and can't help but agree.

If she thought Lee was fast before...well, nothing properly compares to him now. She can barely make him out through the match - just flickers of green - and he's hitting Gaara. Sand shoots up seconds too late to protect the red-head. Sakura sees cracks on Gaara's face and it sort of freaks her out. That, and he genuinely looks worried for a moment.

It's almost a shock when Lee is wrapped in a ball of sand despite his speed and it's even more shocking to see him tap into an inner ability she's not completely familiar with herself. "Eight Gates" she hears Kakashi mumble and something along the lines of Lee being "foolish." Lee is surrounded by an amazing aura but his screaming sounds as if he's in pain.

When he moves, she and Naruto gasp at the same time. Sakura even feels Sasuke tense next to her.

Lee launches Gaara into the air with several kicks (bone crushing) and wraps his ridiculously long bandages around Gaara's body. Hardly a second later, Lee is spinning both of them downwards to the cement floor, burying them and causing a wave of dust to fill the arena. Sakura waves the dust away, eyes trying to locate Lee and Gaara.

There's a poof and then silence.

When the dust clears, Lee is getting up but there's no Gaara insight.  _Clone_ , Sakura's mind supplies. It's a shame too because she sort of thinks Lee's technique is cool. Slowed down by his own ability, Sakura forces herself to watch Lee get smacked around by sand left and right while only dodging a few swipes. It's not until the tension in the large room triples that Sakura knows something else is up.

"He's not going to - " She hears Kakashi stop abruptly. "He is."

"Fourth Gate."

Sakura blinks.

"F-Fifth Gate."

The tension is suffocating.

Lee doesn't look like himself and she unconsciously reaches out to grip the bottom of Naruto's orange jacket along with the bottom of Sasuke's high-collared shirt. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. She knows without a doubt that if Lee fails to beat Gaara with this next move, he won't be able to go on after. The speed at which Lee gets Gaara back in the air is breathtaking. He moves in flickers across the arena.

His skin is beet red, the veins along his body stand out in a concerning way, and his pupils - Sakura can't help but be fearful - are blown. The moment his long bandages wrap around Gaara for the second time, the momentum of drilling him into the ground, the way Sakura can't breathe properly for a moment; it all overwhelms her senses.

The dust from the action takes several minutes to clear.

"Is Bushy Brow still alive?" Naruto whispers.

"I hope so," Sakura replies despite her annoyance towards the title Naruto gave Lee. "That was...intense."

Aside from that, no one else speaks for the duration it takes for the dust to clear. Sakura feels the tension rising again when she sees both Lee and Gaara. Lee is out. He's done. She can barely make out the rise and fall of his chest. Gaara's sand, on the other hand, swirls around his prone body lazily. But slowly, Sakura can see, a small trickle moves towards Lee's body.

Something cold settles in Sakura's chest.

The chatter picks up around her. Sasuke is speaking quietly to Kakashi and Naruto starts yammering about the match. She sees Ino say something to her sensei and the other Sand nin talk while not removing their eyes from Gaara. In a quick downscale, the sand heading towards Lee springs into a action. It wraps around one arm and leg and crushes it. Blood splatters beyond the sand and covers the floor on one side of Lee's body.

Lee's scream drowns out Sakura's scream.

"W-What - " Naruto tries to speak.

Sakura grips his arm before he leaps down. "Don't, Naruto." Even with a sick feeling overtaking her body, Sakura maintains a firm hold on her teammate. "Gaara may very well attack you, too."

"Sakura is right," Sasuke states before Naruto can argue. "I wouldn't even jump down there."

"Winner; Sabaku no Gaara."

Medics start for Lee, but the ground around them shifts.

"He's going for the kill."

Fear for Lee bubbles in Sakura's stomach.

"Why?!" Naruto demands. "He already won!"

She has to do something.

"For some, that...isn't enough."

A wave of sand bursts from the ground all of a sudden, heading straight for Lee.

Sakura's hands are moving before she even realizes it. A wall of wood erupts from the ground beneath the destroyed stone of the arena floor and surrounds Lee. It goes all the way to the ceiling denying the sand its goal. It's thick and dark red with smaller branches covered in white flowers sticking out from the side. The sand slams against it but cannot break through.

It retreats soon after as Gaara sits up.

His gaze leaves the pillar of wood to look directly at Sakura.

It's the first time someone looked at her with such icy hatred before. He stares at her as if her death is inevitable. He stares at her as if he's already killed her. It leaves a sickly sensation in her chest. She can feel, rather than see, her teammates shift closer to her. Even their sensei places a hand on her shoulder while probably staring blankly down at the red-haired boy.

"He won't touch you," Sasuke whispers.

"I stopped him," Sakura mumbles back.  _I had too_.

The hand on her shoulder tightens briefly. "The fight was over the moment Gaara was declared the winner. He should have stopped. You did the right thing."

Sakura watches as the wood pillar she created retreats into the ground.

"He's s-standing," she gasps when it's low enough to reveal Lee.

"He is."

Lee's sensei weeps and Sakura feels as if she's close to crying herself.

* * *

"Congratulations to everyone who passed to the final round."

Sakura tries to focus on the Hokage's speech while standing between two people who attempted to kill their opponent during the prelims. Gaara has yet to look away from her - as far as she knows - and Neji has glanced in her direction more than once. She has a pretty clear idea of what Gaara may be thinking but Neji is a closed book. Their combined tension keeps her on guard.

"Unlike using a computer to determine your opponent, you will each draw from a bag. Those with matching numbers will face each other."

It's not exactly fair, in Sakura's opinion, but she figures the life of a shinobi isn't exactly fair. An unrecognizable jounin walks down the row to each of them and holds out a bag. Sakura takes a deep breath before drawing her number. A looming sense of dread fills her body when she sees her number. Well, dread and frustration. Equal amounts.

"In order from Nara to Hyuga, state your name and number."

"Nara Shikamaru. Three."

"Sabaku no Kankuro. Two."

"Uchiha Sasuke. One."

"Aburame Shino. Two."

"Sabaku no Temari. Three."

"Uzumaki Naruto! My number is four!"

"...Sabaku no Gaara. One."

Sakura sighs. "Haruno Sakura. Five."

"Hyuga Neji. Four."

"Kinuta Dosu. Five."

The Hokage nods solemnly, though his expression remains peaceful. Something that is confusing in and of its self. "You will have one month to prepare. Good luck." He leaves with his guard and the line of victors return to their team on the second level save for the Sand nin and Team Seven. Sakura doesn't look in the direction of the Sound team.

"I thought you'd guys would be a little more enthusiastic," Kakashi comments as they head towards the exit. "Team Seven made it to the final round with all its members."

Sasuke snorts. "I have to face Gaara. That will be...difficult."

"Yeah? Well, I'll finally have a chance to kick Neji's ass! I'll do it for Hinata!"

Sakura hums softly. "If Kinuta is anything like his teammate, that will be a struggle."

"We're going to work on all your disadvantages against your opponents, so cheer up!" Kakashi claps twice. "It's been a long day so I think it's best to - "

"I'm going to Ground 3," Sakura interrupts. "I still have enough energy to use."

Kakashi eyes her critically. "Overexerting yourself wouldn't be wise, Sakura. Count today as a victory and - "

"I feel restless, sensei. I want to move. I want to hit things. I want - "  _to cry, sensei_.  _Please, let me have this_. " - fight. Even if it's just a spar. Please, sensei."

"I'll spar with you, Sakura." Sasuke moves to stand next to her. "Rest is important," he begins. "But being restless can cause one to be reckless."

Sakura frowns but otherwise doesn't comment.

"I'll spar with Sakura-chan, too!" Naruto exclaims. "Or - or it could be a three-way. Or it could be us against you again, sensei!"

"Why was I put with such a ridiculous team," Sakura hears their sensei mumble.

"We're only as ridiculous as you are, sensei." She sticks out her tongue.

Sasuke snorts quietly. "You're a bad influence. Just except it."

"Yeah! You're the one that put us on that crazy training schedule!"

"We'll be going back to that," Kakashi throws out. "Starting tomorrow. We'll incorporate new ideas as we move along."

"So, a round of spars?" Sakura asks.

"I have some time to spare."

Simultaneously, both Sakura and Naruto fist bump the air.

* * *

"So," Ino begins right as Sakura pulls out her key to unlock her apartment, "you made it to the final round."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Come in," she says but Ino's already taking off her sandals. "I made it to the final round."

"You scared the shit out of Shikamaru, ya' know," Ino starts conversationally. "I've never seen him look so worried before in my life."

"He's been a great friend," she answers. "His dad is really nice and I appreciate the help I've been given."

Ino looks down at her hands. "I was worried too, Forehead Girl."

"I heard you call my name," Sakura tells her. "You," she pauses to sigh, "you screamed at me to use my head."

"And boy did you use it," Ino replies with a small smile.

And just like that, they're laughing. The tension surrounding them evaporates into a content bliss. Sakura motions for Ino to take a seat on the couch while she prepares two mugs of hot chocolate with extra whip cream and marshmallows. By the time she's done, Ino has all but curled up on her couch at one end while playing with her hair.

"Today has been crazy," Ino mumbles around the rim of her mug seconds after Sakura handed it to her. "My dad is a little disappointed about me not advancing but fighting Sasuke-kun was crazy. I really didn't stand a chance."

"Did you give all you got?"

"Of course!"

"Well, he respects you. I mean, he didn't hold back either. If he didn't respect you, you would have known."

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Ino hums contently after taking another sip. "Judging by how late it is, you guys went off to do some team bonding? Went out to celebrate passing the prelims together?"

Sakura shakes her head. Her hair, now greasy from sweat and dirt, sits on top of her head in a messy bun. "We sparred. Sasuke-kun, Naruto, and I. Kakashi-sensei played referee."

"You...you guys sparred? Right after the prelims?!"

"I was feeling restless," Sakura defends. "And Sasuke-kun sided with me while also...calling me reckless? Or something like that." She laughs. "I guess he needs to work on that. I totally kicked his butt though. His and Naruto's. He won most of the matches regardless but my short-lived victory felt good."

"So that's why you got back so late."

"How long were you waiting for me?" Sakura places her mug on the coffee table. "Not too long?"

Ino shakes her head and smiles. "Nope. Maybe half an hour. Asuma-sensei took us out to eat. I'm sure it was a pity meal. He denied it."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "I seriously doubt it."

"Whatever."

They sit there in silence for a few minutes. Ino picks at her nails before finishing the rest of her hot chocolate. She places it on the coffee table before stretching her legs out to rest next to it. Sakura doesn't scold her. In fact, she copies Ino. Her feet do ache - Sasuke had her running and Naruto had her dodging - and she really, desperately, needs a shower. As much as she would like to have Ino stay longer, she knows it wouldn't benefit her in the long run.

They can talk more once the chunin exams are done.

"I have to get up early and I really need to shower."

"Is that your way of telling me to leave."

"A somewhat polite way, yes."

Ino grins. "Well, I guess I can leave you alone for the rest of the night."

"We can meet up for lunch or dinner tomorrow if you want."

"Sounds good." Ino stretches before getting up. "Thanks for treating me." She heads for the door and Sakura watches as she puts her sandals back on. Ino pauses at the door, hand on the doorknob. "You did well today, Sakura. You...made me really proud."

"Thanks - "

"But if you ever end up in that position again, I'll..." She trails off into a mumble before shaking her head as if to rid herself of any negative thoughts.

"Good night, Pig."

"Good night, Forehead." Ino doesn't turn around when she leaves.

* * *

Sakura grins when she sees Yamato standing with Kakashi in the early hours of the morning. Both men are conversing over something that seems pretty serious from a distance but they immediately stop when she's within earshot. Yamato offers her a big grin and a thumbs up. "Heard you did a great job yesterday! Moving on to the final round of the chunin exams is a great feat."

_I was nearly strangled to death but sure_ , Sakura thinks. "Thank you, Yamato-sensei."

"I wonder where Naruto and Sasuke are," Yamato questions.

"They got into a fight and decided to race the long way here." Sakura shrugs in a sort of 'boys will be boys' way. "No need to worry, sensei. They'll be here soon enough."

As if she summoned them through name alone, Naruto and Sasuke burst into th clearing.

"H-Haha, I win!" Naruto cheers while kneeling in the dirt.

"No," Sasuke breathes in deeply, "you don't, dumbass."

"Did too!"

"Did not."

"Did too!"

Sakura shares an unimpressed look with Yamato. "It was a tie!"

"Besides," Kakashi cuts in before Naruto can protest, "you were supposed to be here 2 minutes ago. Sakura was here first so that means she's the real winner." Offering a peace sign to the boys (both who mumble curses under their breath), Sakura moves to stand at attention while Naruto and Sasuke come to stand next to her. "Today is going to be fun and exciting and full of adventure."

"We're in for the workout of our life," Sakura deadpans.

"Yup!" Kakashi's grin can barely be made out underneath his mask. "Don't stop unless I say you can."

Yamato steps forward. "As long as you listen, you'll be fine. Today is all about relying on your teammates."

Sakura glances at Naruto and then at Sasuke before sighing.

"We're going to be in individual fights," Sasuke states.

Kakashi flashes him his signature eye smile. "Do you think I really care about that right now?"

"Is that a r-rhetorical question?" Naruto asks unsurely.

"Yup!"

"Let's get to work, kiddies~"

* * *

Body aching in a way that she should now be used too, Sakura makes her way down the empty streets of Konoha. The moon is nearly full and the cool wind is a much-needed reprieve after the evening heat. As she draws near her apartment, a tingle runs down her spine. Someone is watching her. Someone is watching her closely. She can feel eyes roam over her back. In an attempt to not be obvious - nor wishing to lead anyone to her apartment - Sakura turns toward the park nearby.

It's not empty.

_This is just my luck_ , she thinks.

"Fancy seeing you here, Gaara-san."

_Why the hell did I say that_?

Gaara's blank face shifts into that of a cold, calculating stare. His body tenses in a way that makes her think he'll spring from his position on one of the two swings when she gets close enough. Despite knowing the situation has become largely dangerous, Sakura no longer feels eyes against her back. She steps a slow, considering step towards the available swing.

"Why are you putting yourself in harm's way?" He asks as she takes a seat.

"Do you intend to attack me, Gaara-san?"

_Nice, Sakura_.  _You really know how to keep a conversation going_.

"If you don't leave."

"Would you allow me to walk away freely?"

"N - Yes." Gaara flinches as if someone shined a bright light in his face. One of his hands leaves the meal chain holding the swing to rest on top of his head. Seconds later, he's leaning forward a little while clenching at his hair.

"Gaara-san? Should I go - "

"Why did you save him?" She opens her mouth to speak, but he continues on. "No one would have gotten to him in time. Yet you...you were able to cover him."

"How do you know it was me?"

_"You saved him," Kakashi mumbles while Sasuke and Naruto spar. "The amount of control it must have_   _taken to create something like that is...phenomenal, Sakura."_

_She feels her face redden at the praise. "I was just overwhelmed with a deep desire to protect him, sensei. I don't know how it happened. I barely remember forming the hand seals to do anything. It manifested into something huge."_

_Kakashi runs a hand through his hair. "Not many people realize it was you. I doubt those who did will go around telling others." He places a gloved hand on her head. "Promise me you'll be much more careful, Sakura. This is becoming far more serious than I like."_

_"Yes, sensei."_

Sakura waits patiently for an answer.

"I could feel your energy in the ground," he states. "Not unlike my sand but with more structure." He pauses before his gaze returns to the moon - she hadn't realized she interrupted his moon gazing - and continues in a quieter voice, "I would have killed you if it weren't for your teammates."

"I see," she nods. "Did you mean what you said? About letting me walk away?"

Gaara spares her a quick glance. "I want to fight you," he says instead of answering her.

"And you want to kill me. It's a pity we aren't facing each other in the final round."

"We will fight," he replies softly.

It almost throws her for a loop.

"What do you mean?"

A burst of sand surrounds Gaara and he's gone. His swing creaks in protest.

_What does he mean_?

* * *

"Gaara wants to kill me," Sakura beings casually as she makes Shikamaru and herself a nice cup of hot tea. It's nearing midnight but she's wide awake. "Also, you and Ino need to stop randomly showing up at my place at night. I do have a ridiculous training regimen to follow." Shikamaru pulls the small tray with sugars, honey, and cookies on it towards him.

"You stopped him from making the final kill," Shikamaru answers back just as casually. "For a guy like that, you got under his skin."

Sakura laughs. "That seems to be the only way."

"You're taking your supposed 'looming' death well," he adds. "I thought you'd be more concerned."

"Do you remember the night you and your dad felt a sudden spike of raw chakra?" Shikamaru nods. "That was him. That was Gaara. I managed to piss him off then, too. Even after I shared my dango with him. I guess I'm not really good at making friends. At least, not the kind that doesn't like to talk much and has an obsession with sand."

Shikamaru hums. "We're friends, though, and I don't talk about a lot. You normally fill the conversation space."

"Shikamaru," Sakura starts slowly as if speaking to a small child, "you'd be friends with a tree if you could."

"True. A tree wouldn't force me to wake up at 8 in the morning." He leans back in his seat after a taking a sip and studies her. "Why  _are_  you being so casual about threats against your life?"

"The mission to Wave really changed my outlook on life and my career. The people I met - the good and bad, the kind and cold-hearted, those who would sacrifice their lives to save the ones they love - really shaped the world for me. I realized that it would be very easy for me to lay down my life for my comrades. That isn't to say that I wouldn't give it my all. Only, if I had to make a choice between my self and others, I wouldn't choose myself. I was threatened then and I was threatened in the forest and I was threatened during my match."

"In other words - "

" - such threats become normal," they finish as one.

Sakura nods. "In our line of duty, yes. Even if they scare the hell out of me. And trust me, I am scared a lot. More than I like to admit." She blows against the steam rising from her teacup. "In Gaara's case, this is the second time he has threatened me."

"And the second time he has let you walk away."

"Moreso, he is the one to walk away." Sakura scrunches her nose. "Well, teleport away. With his sand. Twice. He really does terrify me."

He narrows his eyes at her. "Why did you speak to him in the first place?"

"He looked lonely, Shikamaru. I was looking to make a new friend and potential ally. I don't just share my dango with anyone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need time to flesh out some ideas/concepts I have for Sakura so any questions regarding her attitude, abilities, and family may not be answered for a while. Please understand.

**Author's Note:**

> This can also be found on my FF.Net: i-just-really-love-sakura


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